Metal Gear Solid: Shadow Moses
by AngelSnake
Summary: In the snowy desert of Shadow Moses, a new character appears. The whole mission goes upside down as situations don't go as they are planned. Who is this mystery woman? What are her intentions and motivations? *CHAPTER 33 IS COMPLETED*
1. A Sniper's Shot

**Author's notes**: I will take any criticisms to this story that I'm starting. Opinions are appreciated. This is my first story here and I hope you guys enjoy it.

A Sniper's Shot (Premonition)

A silent, lonely woman with straight, long locks of golden hair was sitting on the blackened steel platform. Her back was firm against the frozen wall as her eyes stared at the smooth black rifle across her thighs. On the ground next to her, a cylinder shaped laser sight was rolling back and forth.

"_A sniper takes great care of their rifle. The rifle becomes a part of you. A part of life."_

She caressed her PSG-1 slowly as she finished reloading it over and over again. This was the tenth time in a row. A sound of a cock echoed the halls as she pulled the rifle's gauge. She picked up the laser sight with her sharp, crimson nails. Placing the cylinder shape on top of her gun's scope, she pointed the rifle upward to adjust the fitting. Tightening the scope, she slowly put the gun on the floor. Standing up, her small, thin curves swayed in the air as she dug her pocket.

"_A sniper needs to be alert and calm. A sniper can't be bothered by the slightest hunger or thirst."_

Taking out a silver plastic container with "Diazepam" across the middle, she took the cap off. She tilted the small bottle and one pill dropped in the palm of her hand. Opening her mouth wide, she popped the pill in her mouth swallowing it dry. The tranquilizers calmed her nerves and her hands stopped shaking momentarily. Breathing deeply, the assassin crotched down and picked up her PSG-1. Positioning her body, she was laying stomach faced on the uncomfortable floor. Because of the PSG-1's heaviness and lengthy structure, she carefully placed the tail of the gun over her shoulder.

Suddenly, multiple sounds of dim howling reached her ear.

"_A sniper uses their environment to their advantage. One animal chirp, howl, squeal, bark. One snap of a twig or crunching of grass or snow can give the enemy away. But it can also give you away."_

"My prey has arrived," the woman purred. Silently thanking her wolves and praying for them, the sniper readies her aim. She still had her laser sight off. She zoomed in as a wind of snow seeped into the room by the cold air from the outside. As darkness was easing, she saw her query. They were staring right at her but the poor fools couldn't see her. She watched as one of them was zigzagging across the dirty snow which hides napalm. The other followed but with a more cautious step than the woman's.

A small trap for a certain distraction was a small trick she learned in the past. The figures came closer as she zoomed out a little to get a clear shot and waited for the right moment. It came when the woman turned around to look at her partner. She was shaking her head and shrugging her shoulders in frustration.

"Stupid woman," the sniper licked her lips. She was going to use the carelessness of her prey's partner to be his downfall.

"_A target has a weakness whether it is an animal, their body or the comrade they are accompanying."_

She turned on her laser sight. A blood red beam of light appeared on the distracted female. The woman didn't know she was targeted but her partner did. She saw her prey whisper the person's name.

The woman turned around slowly and was stone cold when she saw the beam of light caressing her body.

"_A sniper should have no feelings of pity or remorse for their victims. They are nothing but your targets."_

"No, you're wrong there," the sniper did feel sorry for this. In her heart, it was screaming loudly as her conscience kept her finger from pulling the trigger. Suddenly, the sniper smiled and hardened her soul, "There are ways to get your prey."

She lowered the rifle slightly aiming above the woman's knee cap, "Men are so weak!"

"Ah! The light at the end of the tunnel," the sniper saw a bright light illumining at the end of the hallway, "She has come!"

A shot rung across the room as a scream was heard and swallowed by darkness.


	2. A Tortured Soul

A Tortured Soul

Pain slithered through her body like a sword cutting through her insides. Sniffing the air didn't help much either. The smells of burnt flesh stung her nose causing her to gag. Her stomach was winching in nausea.

In an attempt to move her body, she felt a painful spike in her spine but she also felt shingles of cold metal confined her to this nightmare. Wriggling her numb fingers and trying to move her legs, her whole being was ensnared on a bed of torture.

"What should we do with her," a raspy voice called out, "You want me to kill her?"

She couldn't see anyone but a couple of shadows. Her eyes were too dizzy. It formed a haze on her eyelids making her vision difficult to focus.

"Not yet," this voice had an eloquent, charming accent than the other, "I want her to witness my moment of triumph before I put a bullet in her head!"

The man was walking closer to her with a face of arrogance. His stride was as mischievous as he placed his fingers on her chin roughly tilting her head. She could see his blonde, shoulder length hair dance in the darkness. His dark blue eyes were dreary as a storm. In her dizzy haze, she could make out wickedness creeping in the man's lips.

"It's a pity," the man said in a heavy sigh, "If you could see look past your petty ideals, you could see what I'm trying to accomplish here. What we are striving for!"

"I don't see anything but a madman with a big ego," she choked. Her throat was dry and sore.

A huge blow to her stomach made her cough up blood as she grunted in agony.

Still having his fist lunged in her stomach, he lend his head forward, "I know who you are! After I'm done here, I'll make sure to make your precious life a living…"

Suddenly, a phone rung inside the man's dark trench coat. Walking away from the bloody heap, he brought out a polished black cell phone. He flipped the cover of the black with silver lining phone as he placed it against his ear huffing.

"Yes," The man seemed irritated. Silence filled the room as the man was listening to the other line. He shook his head slowly.

"Really? Right on schedule," the man voice changed in tone, "Raven, make sure Octopus is ready. Have two enemy patrols ready the Hind D and have the other two wait for me in the underground elevator. "

"Sir," the lone figure interrupted.

"A submarine in the Bering Sea has been identified. He's on that submarine. I can feel it, Ocelot," the man flipped the cover of his cell phone and placed it back in his pocket.

"How do you know that," Ocelot scratched his head.

The man chuckled, "It's quite simple. The commander of the operation will be forced to bring his friend into this mess. He really doesn't have a choice in the matter, since we have his niece in our wonderful care."

Her dizziness was wearing off as she saw the gray-haired man paced towards the console next to her.

"Where shall we put her," Ocelot was pushing buttons on the silver console.

A humming noise vibrated her eardrums as she felt her whole body facing up on the bright ceiling. Five bright, light bulbs blinded her. She blinked to adjust to the light that worsened her thumping pain in her skull. A sound of a pop filled the room. Footsteps pounded on the floor and a grunt of confusion entered the room.

"What are you doing, Liquid?"

Liquid came into her view as he lifted up a shot. He pushed out the air in the tube as a liquid substance seeped from the sharp needle. Putting his left hand over her mouth, he stabbed the shot in her neck chuckling. It pinched her neck as a liquid of fire burned into her bloodstream. Her muffled screams of agony seized her body uncontrollably. After a few seconds, the woman calmed down as her eyes closed gradually.

"Hurts, doesn't it?"


	3. A Interloper Arrives

Author's Notes: Sorry, it take me so long to write this chapter. I tried to make it sound as good as I can. I hope you enjoy it.

A Interloper Arrives

He stopped kicking his feet against the water currents as he noticed that the rock formation in the sea transformed into a metal structure. Underwater, he noticed light fixtures overhead shining through the icy cold Alaskan water.

Swimming towards the surface of the water, his head glanced at the surroundings. The currents of the water were slow as waves of water hit the end of his dark-trim, clear goggles. From his view, he could see silver, steel-hardened containers and steel horizontal pillars holding the rock textures from the ceiling to keep it from crumpling. In the back of the area, he could see an elevator. Looking at the small surroundings, he saw white shadows patrolling them. Two of them walked out of his vision.

Gently, he dropped his head back underwater and swam towards a small stairway. As he grabbed onto the ledge and pulled himself up, he kicked off his flippers and watched as they slowly sank underwater. Water was streaming down his swimmer's jacket. Spitting out his oxygen tank, a voice boomed through the steel and rock structure of the underground environment.

"Stay alert! He'll be through here. I know," a voice of confidence flew through the man, "I'll go to swat down a couple of bothersome flies."

An alarm vibrated his ears loudly as a cranky elevator was pushed down. Since he couldn't see the man riding the elevator, no chance was available to identify him. The alarm was silenced for a time until its annoying noise rang again as the elevator went back above sea level.

Going up the second flight of steps, he hid behind some type of generator. It was probably for ventilation as he noticed two gray, pudgy rats scurrying away as fast as lightning. His shadow scared them to death probably.

Putting his index finger under his right earlobe and bending his knees, a ring stimulated his ear. The codec rung twice before it clicked off.

"Good thing it's in my inner ear," the man growled at the ringtone's volume level. Also since it only vibrated his ear, no one but him could hear its annoying ring.

"This is Snake," his voice was unusually calm, "Colonel, can you hear me?"

"Loud and clear, Snake. What's the situation?"

"_Snake, it's been a long time." a man wearing a beret with a light bluish uniform stood in front of the soldier._

"_I should have known you were behind this Colonel," Snake, shirtless, was sitting on the side of a bed. His right arm lazily lying on his knee. As his long, ragged hair drooped on his shoulders, he looked up at his former commander in irritation._

_The colonel chuckled at Snake's blunt response, "That's not how to greet an old war buddy, Snake."_

"_What do you want from me?" a low growl seeped from Snake's mouth._

_Campbell put both his hands behind his back, "I just invited you here so we can have a talk."_

"_Invited," Snake raised his voice, "That's what you call sending armed soldiers after me."_

_Apologetic, Campbell cleared his throat, "Sorry, if they were a little rough on you."_

_Pacing back and forward, Campbell slowly spoke, "Snake, we have a situation. Only you can get us out of it."_

"_I'm retired from Foxhound. You are not my commander anymore," Snake followed the Colonel with his icy stare, "and I don't have to take orders from you or anyone else."_

"_You will take these orders," calmly, the Colonel voice was unhinged, "I know it."_

"Looks like the elevator in the back is the only way up."

"Just as I expected," the layout was fresh in Campbell's mind, "You need to use the elevator to get yourself up to the surface."

"If you need to," the colonel wanted to remind Snake about the codec," contact me by codec. My frequency is 140.85."

"Okay," Snake shook his head affirmatively, "I'm ready to go."

Taking his index finger off the receiver, the codec was turned off. Looking below the generator, he saw the skinny legs of the dark blue generator holding it above ground. The space was big enough for him to crawl through.

"Like a snake," he muttered to himself as he pushed his stomach face down on the hard, smooth concrete.

Stealthily crawling under the humming generator, he saw a guard holding a semi-automatic weapon. The guard's whole uniform consisted of a white heavy coat with pants of the same texture and color. His face was obscured with a white balaclava. The guard scanned the small corner. After seeing everything was normal, he turned around casually still holding his weapon close to his chest.

Swiftly crawling out of the space, Snake ran towards a rusty green wall. Putting his back against the wall, he peeked around the corner to see the same guard still walking straight to the other end. Following the soldier, Snake slowly strolled unto the shadow of the ignorant guard. He turned a corner as Snake put his back against the steel, rectangular, gigantic box. Sliding over to the corner, he watched the guard stalking the other side as another guard wearing the same attire appeared.

The soldier he had being following turned on the other side of the steel box. Snake also saw the elevator shaft, his destination. The only problem was that the elevator couldn't be controlled from down here. He had to wait.

While the coast was clear, he dashed towards an inoperable construction tracker as cover. As he crouched down to avoid being spotted, an alarm sounded. It was coming from the elevator shaft.

Something vibrated his eardrum as he figured out that the elevator was coming down, "Snake, the elevator is coming down probably with guards. Wait for the right moment to get in. Remember, this is a stealth mission."

Peeking around the tracker, one guard came out of the elevator. The guard walked over a puddle in disgust.

"Stupid water! I just got this boots polished," his voice was in aggravation as he lifted his left boot and shook it violently.

His footsteps echoed quietly as he was walking farther away from Snake's earshot and view. Taking the chance, Snake ran inside the elevator.

The alarm blurted out as red lights flashed violently. The elevator went up as fast as he got in there.

"Time to ditch this gear," putting his hand over his hip he unattached the velcro strap that held the jacket in place.

The grayish vest-like jacket dropped on the ground as he stripped off the rest of his diver's gear revealing his blue newly issued sneaking suit. He put his hand over his face to take off his goggles as the elevator moved slowly towards the mission that he was suckered into.


	4. Nightmare

Nightmare

_Running down a corridor that was full of gory carcasses of military men, she was trying to break free of the war zone. Bodies were crawling after her in plead for help. She had an inclination to reach her arm out to them but darkness pulled her out of the bloody hands clinging on her. Screams were shouting in her ear as she saw something caught her eye. It was a scaly tail from some lizard. A strong, warm wind with the stench of blood forced her to trail the slithering path. She followed the tail of an unknown creature, an unknown entity. Sand filled her eyes as two huge snakes were fighting in the darkness. She was an ant compared to the blood filled eyes of the serpents fighting. A small chill went up her spine as each blow the snakes gave to each other caused the world to quake. Flashes of light blinded her as she saw visions of people she didn't know. Pain and confusion in her whole body quivered her heart into a frenzy of sadness. She closed her eyes in agony waiting for the ache in her body to stop._

_She couldn't move her body. Her whole figure was in paralysis watching the two snakes go at it relentlessly. War-torn villages were burning behind them brightening the scaly skin of both of the snakes' fury. _

_The snakes were oddly the same shape but they had different eyes and colors. One had the cold eyes of determination, guilt, and trembling sadness. Blue waves of sparking scales covered this snake's body. The sorrow was leaping out of that snake. It almost looked like the snake was carrying it like a heavy burden. The snake's fights were more of an defense than an offense. Biting the neck of his opponent, he flipped it in the air. Still holding the snake with his sharp, pointy fangs, he threw him down with vicious strength. The ground rippled underneath them._

_The other snake, though was more crazed and its body had red spots on its brown, scaly skin. Its eyes were brown as mud and full of murderous rage . It's attacks were brutal and blood-thirsty. His fangs were red with blood dripping down the corner of its mouth. There was no feeling in this snake. Its whole presence seemed unnatural like it wasn't a snake but a monster of its own creation._

_Sand particles flew on her face as the fight between two great powers continued. Suddenly, the snake of fury seized the tail of the other and threw him upon her. At first, she thought the snake was going to crush her, but the snake balanced itself. The musky, brown snake crept close to her with the eyes of rage and sadistic joy. As it crept close, the other snake bit it on the nose stopping the snake from closing in on her. It almost looked like the other snake was protecting her. Faded, blue eyes of guilt flew through the snake as it stared at her throbbing. When the crazed snake pinned his enemy to the ground hissing, tears streamed down her chubby cheeks as sands of blood rained down upon the woman. Pain twinkled down her body as the victorious snake slithered towards her like a predator catching its prey. Its head tilted upward in triumph and opened its mouth. Its tongue danced wildly in the air._

"_This is your fate," the voice came out of the malicious snake as it snapped the woman's body in its mouth._

The snap disappeared as she gasped for breath. Her eyes cleared back into reality as her body tensed forcing her torso upward. Her throat was tight and dry. A sound of relief gripped the small room as a figure sitting next to her shook her in despair.


	5. A Snake's Entrance

A Snake's Entrance

Solid Snake stared at the gigantic structure that came into his sights as the elevator stopped at its destination. As he could see, Shadow Moses was almost a frozen block of icy concrete. Snow flakes were falling lightly on the atmosphere surrounding the building. Wondering if he should just leave his swimming gear in plain sight, he grabbed all of his gear,"Just to be safe."

Behind him was a pit of fog leading to the deep blue sea. He dropped his gear into the pit so his presence wouldn't be compromised. Finally running out of the elevator, he hid in front of stacks of steel boxes for cover.

Reaching under his right earlobe, he activated his codec, "This is Snake. I'm in front of disposal faculty."

"Excellent, Snake," Colonel Campbell was relieved that his old friend hasn't lost his touch, "Age hasn't slow you down one bit."

"How's the sneaking suit working out," Naomi's British accent replaced the Colonel's. She was using the same frequency the Colonel had. From the look in the monitor, her dark brown hair wasn't tied back by the clip when he first saw her. The hair was pushed back against her ears

"I'm nice and dry, but it's a little hard to move," His dark blue sneaking suit ruffled in the codec.

"Bear with it. It's designed to prevent hypothermia. This is Alaska, you know."

"_Excuse me," a dark-haired woman wearing a lab coat took a hold of Snake's left arm. Her hair was pinned back by a clip._

"_Who's this," Snake looked at the woman. _

"_Dr. Naomi Hunter," Campbell stood next to the woman, "She's Foxhound's chief medical staff and an expert in gene therapy."_

"_Are you military," Snake questioned the woman as she picked up a needle from a tray at the end of the bed._

"_No, civilian. I have been sent here from ATGC. Pleasure to meet _you_, Snake."_

Snake detect a little defensiveness from Hunter's voice, "Take it easy. I'm grateful. If it weren't for your suit and your shot, I would have turned into a popsicle right now. "

"An anti-freezing peptide, Snake," she corrected him, "All the Genome soldiers in this exercise are using it.

"I see. I'm relieved to hear that. Already tested, huh?"

Snake heard rotors behind him, "By the way, how's the diversionary operation going?"

Answering him, Campbell popped in, "Two F-16's just took off from Galena and are heading your way. The terrorists should have picked them up on their radar."

A gust of strong cold wind hit the back of Snake. Looking around the corner of the boxes, Snake saw something unusual, "A Hind D?"

The monstrous carrier covered the whole helipad in front of Snake. Two guards, who wore heavy white coats and heavy duty pants, were standing in front of the tan colored helicopter. A gun turret was on the front of the cockpit with heavy payload of missiles attached on each of its wings.

"Colonel," Snake examined, "what's a Russian gunship doing here?"

Campbell's voice softly sighed, "I have no idea."

A blonde hair man wearing a smooth, brown trenchcoat entered the small cockpit of the monstrosity. As he entered the Hind D, the rotors spun faster and the carrier lifted lightly off the granite helipad. The guards slowly walked backwards holding their tightly fitted balaclavas as the Hind D took off. Snake watched the Hind fly passed him disappearing in the fog of darkness.

"There are only 18 hours left until their deadline. You got to hurry," Campbell reminded Snake.

"Wow! He must be crazy to fly a Hind D in this kind of weather, "A tiny voice whispered. A voice Snake didn't recognize.

Snake curiously checked, "Who's that?"

Campbell smiled, "Oh, that's right. I haven't introduced you two. This is Mei Ling. She was assigned to us as our visual and data processing specialist. She is the one who designed your codec and the Solition radar system. Contact her if you have any questions."

"Nice to meet you, Snake." Mei Ling said shyly. From the green codec monitor, she had black hair that was tied back in a ponytail. She looked very young and from his guess probably around 18 or 19 years of age.

Her Chinese accent made her sound charming and so childlike, "It's an honor to speak to a living legend like yourself."

A pause answered back. Mei Ling shyly ended the silence, "What's wrong?"

Snake smiled, "Oh nothing, I just didn't expect a world-class designer of military technology to be so…cute."

She closed her eyes and giggled, "You're just flattering me."

"No, I'm serious," Her voice was a refresher from the commanding voice of the Colonel and Naomi's smart talk, "Now I know I won't be bored for the last 18 hours."

Blushing terribly, her voice in disbelief, "C'mon, I can't believe I'm being hit on by the famous Solid Snake. But I'm surprised. You're pretty frank for a trained killer."

"Looks like we both have a lot to learn about each other."

"I look forward into learning about the man behind the legend," Mei Ling voice turned serious, "but first let me explain your Solition radar system."

Mei Ling went on explaining what each dot of color on the radar was and also noting the blue cone shape as his enemy's vision, "Remember that this is all made from current existing technology. You won't be able to use it in a room with strong harmonic resonance."

"Be careful, Snake," Naomi interrupted, "The Genome soldiers have enhanced vision and hearing do to their gene therapy. Make sure you don't let them see you."

"First, I want you to infiltrate the disposal site and locate the Darpa Chief," Campbell swayed.

"The Darpa Chief has been fitted with the same GPS transmitting nanomachines as you." Naomi commented.

"He should appear as a green dot."

"Get whatever information he has about the terrorists … if he is still alive that is," Campbell added pessimistically.

"Contact us on the codec if you need advice or additional information."

"Okay, I'll call if I'm feeling lonely," Snake calmly took the situation with a grain of salt.

"Seriously," Naomi called out, "We're here to help you out."

"Besides your binoculars," Campbell gravely replied, "you are naked."

"I remember," Snake padded his empty gun holsters," First, I'm strip-searched by Naomi and all my weapons are taken away. Imagine yourself in that position."

"Well if you make it back in one piece, maybe I'll let you do a strip search on me," She made a playful comeback.

"I'll hold you to that doctor."

Putting flirtation aside, Snake choked up a cigarette from his stomach. Chuckling, he heard a frustrated huff from Naomi, "Where did you get that? I thought I threw away your pack of cigarettes."

"I got them out and put them in my stomach," Snake watched as Naomi's eyes squinted, "Thanks to the shot you gave me that suppressed my stomach acids." Snake decided to smoke it later as he placed the cigarette in one of his small pockets.

He took out his binoculars from it's holder as he scouted the area. Walking slowly to avoid attention to one sentry on his left, Snake saw the front door which seemed fused shut.

"We are monitoring your movements through the network. We are counting on you, Snake."

Searching with his binoculars, he saw a vent on the far left side with a guard sleeping on the job. A camera was scanning the surrounding view of its appointed position.

"That shouldn't be a problem. All I need is some chaff grenades. Better search around."

Snake headed towards the helipad where two searchlights covered over half of the heliport. Watching the two searchlights overlap each other, he ran to left side before the searchlights criss-crossed back to his position.

A storage area was in front of him as he ran though it. A whirling sound forced him to look up. A camera was on his right side.

"A surveillance camera?"

Before the camera switched sides, Snake ran behind it. As it scrutinized the outside, he went deeper into the storage area that was nearly empty. Wooden crates and cardboard boxes sat on each side of the huge room. A box labeled stun grenades and chaff grenades caught his eye. Since his body was out of the camera's range, Snake casually walked over to the black, wooden box. Crouching down, he placed his hand under the lid of the box and popped it open.

Three stun and chaff grenades rolled around the nearly bare box. He took them all and placed them on the holders on the back of his sneaking suit's belt buckle. He turned around to see the camera again pointing outside. He got up and ran behind it again. As it turned around looking at the box he just opened, he raced outside taking out one of his chaff grenades.

A cold air blew in his face as light snow twinkled in his short, dark hair. To the left was the lazy guard still was sleeping on the job. Taking out one of the chaff grenades, Snake stealthily walked closer. He saw the cargo trucks sitting on the right. Stopping, Snake threw the grenade a few meters from his feet. A short flame span as the grenade let out a flurry of static electrical interference. The camera near the guard was flashing red and scurried.

Sneaking towards the sleepy guard, he snored and shook his head. Snake rolled towards corner behind the vent. The guard made a yawn. Peeking, Snake saw that the guard just closed his eyes again. He whistled slowly in relief as the guard went back to sleep. Snake slided slowly against the metal wall, he was now behind the sleepy guard. He swiftly bent down. A SOCOM pistol was loosely hanging out of the guard's gun holder tied around the heavy, white coat of the uniform. Snake snatched the gun swiftly. The guard stretched and walked away.

Snake was as still as a statue cursing that if the guard turned around especially with a bright light blaring, he will be like a deer caught in headlights. He also noticed that his chaff grenade stopped working.

He turned around at the vent behind him and in a flash crawled through the darkness as the codec stimulated his eardrum.


	6. Women in a Cell

Women in a Cell

Light green, rock-solid brick walls surrounded her in the musty smelling prison. A tiny lamp that held one light bulb hung above the ceiling shining against the filthy, ugly colored floor. The toilet in the upper corner was unusually clean and on the right side of it was a fresh roll of paper which was recently put in. The guard that was watching her cell was the one who replaced the roll of paper.

"I wonder why that guard always stares at me," Meryl disgustedly spat as she paced around the room.

Her uneasiness, if you can call it that, wasn't caused by the perverted guard or the horrible stench of the room. Her curiosity was sparked by a blonde haired woman who was dragged into her cell a few minutes ago. The woman was lying on the clean white sheets of the single twin bed against the wall that Meryl laid her upon. She was in pretty bad shape when Meryl picked her up from the floor, which the guards unhumanly threw her harshly on. The stranger was, in Meryl's relief, light as a feather so carrying her to the bed wasn't difficult.

Her clothing was still a mystery to Meryl. Her whole body was covered in a pallid uniform. On her torso was a vest that had a darker tone of white than the long sleeve fatigue that was underneath it. Leather gloves of a pasty shade tightly sheltered her hands from the cold chill of the cell. A black polished belt snapped around her petite waistline had two empty gun holders and small leather pockets. Shiny, tapioca boots with a flat heel rested on her feet.

"That uniform isn't military issued," Meryl shaking her head in puzzlement, "Just who are you?"

Suddenly, a scream escaped the woman's mouth as her torso burst from its lying position like a corpse coming to life. The whole awakening startled Meryl. She ran to the woman and shook her small shoulders. The arms of the woman's uniform had a smooth cotton mixed with a baggy nylon feel to it, "Hey, it's okay! Wake up," the woman was having a very bad nightmare by the way she was trembling.

The woman was sweating like crazy and her breathing was very rapid. One last shook open her eyes as Meryl stepped back to give the woman space. She had her white gloved hands cover her face trying to wipe the sweat dripping from her forehead.

She swallowed hard, "Where am I?" The woman's voice was strong yet hoarse. Her voice seemed cracked and dry.

"You're in a holding cell," Meryl reassured the woman.

Taking her hands off her face, the woman stared back at her. Narrow, blue eyes sparkled color to the woman's unusually white as snow skin tone. Her small, rounded nose sniffed the air as her naked lips smacked with a sigh. Her cheeks were as chubby as a small newborn baby's. Though on her right cheek, there was a small clear pink gash. It was lying jagged across the cheek vertically almost reaching her right eye.

"Are you Foxhound too," her voice became stronger and less hoarse.

Meryl nodded, "Yes, I am. How about you?"

The woman seemed vacillated to answer, "I'm a grunt just like you."

"You didn't join Liquid's rebellion either," Meryl seemed relieved, "I thought I was the only one. What happened to you?"

"I was leading the scientists when I heard Liquid's speech of a revolution. I tried to stop him myself but I was knocked out. And you?" The woman was now in a sitting position. She crossed her legs as she stared at the ceiling blankly.

"I was with Kenneth Baker when they dragged us both to this cell," Meryl noticed that the guard outside was gone.

"Wait," the woman stared at Meryl confused, "Baker was here too?"

"Yes, he was. They moved him somewhere else now."

Meryl noticed that the woman was looking at her left arm where a tattoo of a fox holding a gun comically was painted. It was Foxhound's logo.

"It's a paint tattoo," Meryl put her hand over the fake tattoo. She admired the logo.

The woman chuckled noticing Meryl's content, "You're hook on foxes, aren't you?"

Meryl gave her a smirk. Her back turned from the woman as she remembered the unit's betrayal. She covered the tattoo in shame.

"Hey, I know what you are thinking."

Meryl walked towards the cell door and placed her forehead hard on the cold steel. Her petite yet muscular arms covered her head in despair, "Why did they do this? Foxhound is supposed to be the best that America has to offer in special covert ops. Why did they commit treason?"

Unexpectedly, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She felt warmth and comfort spread throughout her body.

"I suppose they have their reasons for doing this. All we have to do is to stay strong and figure out how to stop them from taking the weapon," the woman shook her shoulder lightly and smiled.

Meryl's face turned surprised, "What weapon? There's no weapon here."

"You haven't been briefed about this mission or about the secret weapon they're developing here," the woman was in shock at how dumbfounded Meryl was.

In perplexity, Meryl threw her arms in the air, "What are you talking about?

The woman walked towards Meryl hesitantly, "You mean…you don't know. You don't know about the whole Shadow Moses being … When did you get here, soldier?"

"The same day the revolution mess started."

The woman was now the one in bewilderment, "You just got here? I thought all soldier imports were cut off." The woman stepped back and whispered something that Meryl didn't catch.

A silence filled the room as Meryl realized that she has been betrayed and now was lied to again by her own unit she worshipped.

"What's your name?"

She still couldn't believe what was happening but she shook the feeling off to answer the woman's question, "It's Meryl. What's yours?"

The woman took one unruly strand of golden hair and pushed it back behind her ear as Meryl stared at the woman waiting for her to answer.

"What's your name," Meryl called back. She tried to guess what it could be but the woman's answer came unexpected

"My name is Angel, Meryl."

"Angel," Meryl twitched, "that's your name?"

Well, the name seemed to fit the woman. Meryl didn't notice until the stranger stood up at full height. Her face seemed to glow like the sun and her bizarre uniform was unmarked.

"Codename, actually," Angel corrected her, "I don't have a real name …"

"Everyone has a name," Meryl watched the woman fidget her fingers and turned in infamy, "right?"

Angel's face twisted in sorrow as she caressed her gloved hand softly. She laid against the green surface of the wall and looked down at the horrible, tiled floor. With her head against the wall, she turned to see a vent shaft above the toilet.

"Hey, Meryl," she ran underneath the vent and pointed her index finger upward.

Meryl followed her finger and knew what she was referring to, "Angel, I think we can escape, but ..."

Still looking up at the silver vent shaft, Angel noticed Meryl stuttering, "What?"

"I want you to tell me everything you know about this place. Don't leave anything out."

Meryl's eyes were full of determination to know the truth no matter what it was. Angel grinned understanding Meryl's frustration at being left in the dark, "You deserve to know. Now, I have to warn you though."

Angel swiftly moved towards her ear, "I only know what I have been told."

"Just tell me, Angel," Meryl didn't like being kept in suspense, " Then we can go get the heck outta this dump."

Angel took a deep breath and started telling her everything about Foxhound's operation here in the snowy wasteland. She explained Shadow Moses all the way to what was being developed underground.

Meryl was wide-eyed, "No way...it's...impossible!"


	7. One Step Closer

**Author's Notes: **The next two chapters will have two points of view other than one like the last chapters. I hope it won't take too longer but I think they will be longer than the other chapters so expect it to take a while. I also want to appreciate the support I'm getting for this story by Andi Mack. Thanks also to people who are reading my story. I really appreciate it.

One Step Closer

Before answering his codec, Snake crawled a little bit more to make sure no one outside saw him. He put his index finger on his right earlobe.

Campbell showed up on the monitor with a look of distress, "Snake, you're not going to believe this. They just shot down our two F-16s… with a Hind D. Then we got a message from Liquid: if we do something like that again, they will launch the nuke."

Images of the Hind D flying over his head and the blonde hair man piloting the carrier copter flashed in his mind, "A Hind shooting down two F-16s? How can two fast as lightning jets be taken down by a slow, bulky, infantry carrier?"

The vent was getting a little darker as Snake had to choose which way to go. Looking to his left side, light shined through the darkness. It could be an opening but he checked the other side to see if it could a better path. There was no light. He saw three small, gray, plump rats searching around the dumpy, black walls with their twitching, pink noses.

Trying the left, Snake crept slowly towards the light. Turning to the side, the light was shining through a metal chain shaft. He saw the green legs of guards with their heads looking toward the green tank in front of them.

"Hey," one of the guards whistled, "did you know that our boss kept the woman alive?"

"Really," the guard seemed appalled, "I thought he was going to execute her."

"Don't tell the boss this but the security door on the 2nd floor is broken."

"What? Did you call to get it fixed?"

"Of course," the guard was offended, "I'm not Johnny!"

"Don't remind me."

"What's with that guy? He's always going to the bathroom."

"Guess what? He's guarding both the women and the Darpa Chief in basement one of the ventilation shaft."

The guard shouted, 'What! We're guarding a tank while he is watching two beautiful women. We get no breaks at all."

"Hey, he is not that bad. Johnny is in the running for the elite course. His abilities are pretty good."

"When he isn't on the go," the guard stretched his arms, "I'm getting back to patrol."

Snake backed up from the dead end and crawled toward the rats that didn't seem to know where to go.

Again, the codec rung in his ears as a face from the past filled the monitor.

"Snake, this is McDonell Miller. It's been a long time," a guy wearing sunglasses and a ponytail for his long hair smiled slyly in the monitor of the codec.

Snake couldn't believe his eyes, "Master, what are you doing here?"

"I quit being a drill instructor and moved to Alaska for some peace and quiet. I'm in retirement just like you. Once in a while, I help train some of the Alaskan scouts."

"Passing on your skills to next generation, huh?"

Master Miller beamed at his old student, "Campbell told me about the situation here. I thought I could be of some use."

Snake honestly trusted Miller, "There's no one I would rather have in a foxhole than you."

Miller was someone you can rely on. He taught him survival, booby-trapping, and many other tactics that helped in the past. His attitude was honest and trustworthy. Miller was too honest to betray his unit or his students. He never let personal feelings or emotions hinder him like one person he used to know. Someone in the past he really hated and wanted to erase the man's haunting existence from his mind.

Suddenly, images of Zanzibar Land and Outer Heaven came into his head. A burnt corpse and bloody bodies in agony floored his mind terribly. Snake's icy eyes squinted to suppressed the horror images he tried so hard to forget. His face, in a few seconds, finally went back into bitter coldness as the emotions from those memories vaporized.

"I know lots about surviving in harsh environments and I have been in Alaska longer than you. So call me if you have questions about the flora or fauna out here. My frequency is 141.80."

"Those mice in front of you are Alaskan field mice. Don't worry they won't bite you. Wild field mice don't have a thick layer of fat, but they can still survive the bitter winters here without hibernating. They dig tunnels under the snow and that's where they stay warm."

"Survival specialists, huh. I should learn from them."

"But there's a dark side too. Sometimes the males will kill and eat offspring that's not their own."

"To ensure the survival of their own genes, right?"

"Yeah, pretty brilliant program, huh," Miller cackled but he retain his posture, "but if you follow the mice, they may lead you to an opening out of the vents. Follow the mice."

As Snake moved closer to the mice, they scurried hastily to get away from his path. The pink feet of the mice tapped the flimsy, brittle metal of the vent in a frenzy. Their furry behinds were shaking in fear as Snake continued to follow them.

The field mice turned left at a corner of light, "An opening."

Snake saw the mice exit out of the vent going separate directions in the brightly, huge room. His body was back in a standing position as he looked at his surroundings.

One great tank of puke green stood on in front of him. As he sidestepped to his left, another tank laid sideways near the cargo elevator. Their shell launchers and turrets were disassembled probably to keep accidents from happening. Snake went to the tank that was up in front when he saw a green uniform soldier wearing a black balaclava walk across the elevator patrolling.

"Snake, use that elevator. The guard said that the Darpa Chief was being held in the 1st basement floor of the ventilation shaft, right," Campbell reminded him.

Using the radar system made by Mei Ling, he could only see two guards in the range of the Solition.

"In China, they say: "Rashness brings success to few, misfortune to many," Mei Ling's cute face showed up on his codec, "Snake, go forward when it's safe, but retreat when there's danger. You'll just have to play it by ear depending on the circumstances.

Nodding, Snake was keeping his back on the tank as he slid towards the elevator silently. As his body reached the end of the tank, he ran to the elevator controls. He pushed the button which had a bold, black arrow pointing down.

The guards were near the vent that he got out from. They couldn't see him as they had their backs turned. Humming filled the elevator doors as the elevator itself came up. A chime dinged as the doors swiftly opened. Snake stepped inside the cargo elevator and push the button labeled "B1". The doors closed as he was one step closer to his objective.


	8. Darpa Chief

Darpa Chief Part 1

"Did you have VR training," Meryl decided to do some exercises on the bed while she literally interrogated Angel with a bunch of questions like where she studied or her motivations. She even question her about how she got her name or if she had a family. The answers Angel gave her were a shrug or a blunt answer to her dismay. Her hazelnut eyes squared forward as her elbows touched the knees of her green pants.

"No," Angel closed the lid of the toilet seat, "I had only live exercises. VR feels so… virtual."

She stood on top of the toilet as she outstretched her arm towards the vent hanging overhead, "Besides…getting hit by paintballs is more fun than virtual bullets."

Meryl stopped her curl-ups and looked at Angel. Her face seemed hurt as memories of her training came floating back.

"_Angel," A pudgy faced man wearing a green beret yelled her name._

"_Yes sir," Angel stuttered as she came to her drill instructor. She was wearing a black helmet with clear goggles. A black vest was covering her olive drab uniform. In her hand, a black rifle with a scope on top was clumsily placed on her chest._

_He looked at her with disgust. He pointed his chubby finger at her black vest, "What is that stain?" _

_She stared at her protective vest. Her face was in shock as she noticed the pink stain lying smoothly on her chest area. She didn't know it was there._

_Wide-eyed, she smiled nervously at her short, fat instructor of the exercises, "I guess I got hit."_

_Her instructor scanned the stain and met his narrow, hardened green eyes at her sparkling, youthful blue ones, "Do you know what this means, rookie?"_

_She looked dumbfounded at the man, "I'm dead?"_

"_That's right," the man spit in her face in anger, "You have been shot in the chest which is a fatal wound to a soldier. You will be rotten on the ground being worm food, daddy's little girl!"_

_Angel ignored the man's lecture and mockery, "I didn't feel it, sir!"_

_Snatching her gun from her hands, the instructor took the butt of the gun and smacked it in her stomach and skull. It forced her to the ground writhering in agony._

"_Did you feel that," he sneered at the young girl as she held her stomach._

"_Yes sir," she was hunched over as the instructor hit her again._

"_Go clean up, woman!" _

_Angel looked behind her as a shadow formed._

Angel shook her head sarcastically, "The good old days." She went back into reaching for the vent and shaking it. The nails had it screwed on tightly.

Meryl's body curved towards her legs as she stretched her arms towards her toes, "You're telling me. Instructors used to look at me all the time though I don't mind it now."

Angel stared at Meryl's green tank top. In weather like this, Angel was surprised that Meryl didn't even shiver, "Aren't you a little cold?"

"Nope," Meryl raised her arms in the air but she glanced at Angel confused, "because of the anti-freezing peptide. Didn't you get it?"

Shaking the vent, Angel felt her whole body crashed down to the floor. Backwards, her head smashed into the seat of the toilet.

* * *

Snake took out his SOCOM pistol as a chime rung in the elevator. The doors opened into an empty hall of cobalt walls. As green dot showed up on his radar, Mei Ling's cute Chinese accent alerted him, "Look at your radar! It's the Darpa Chief! Hurry and rescue him!"

He ejected the handle of his .45 to see the ammo clip.

He looked at the two bullets on top and he could slightly see others behind them, "It's a full clip. It should do fine…for now anyway."

Stepping out of the elevator with his pistol tightly close to him, he stalked the halls. To his right, he saw a silver door with a white six pasted on its upper corner. Heading straight down the corridor, he came across the same color door that he saw earlier, but this had a one pasted white except a six.

The door didn't open automatically, "The door probably opens with a keycard." Continuing on, he passed around a small path and turned around corner where he saw a ladder leading up to an open vent. It was very convenient for him.

Placing his gun back on his holster, Snake grabbed the ladder and climbed up towards the vents. As he ducked his head, he slithered his body inside the air circulating duct. It was less cramp than the one he crawled in to enter the Tank Hangar.

He heard a murmur whisper in the cold metal. He followed the sound as he turned left. Going straight, the path separated into two ways. A whistle caught his attention as he sharply turned as he saw a vent shaft below him.

He peeked through the shaft to see a small bathroom. One guard wearing a green uniform and a black balaclava was sitting on the toilet underneath Snake. The guard's weapon was laying on the wall next to the roll of paper on his right.

The man sniffled, "Caught a damn cold! I hate Alaska."

Stretching his arms, he placed them behind his head, "Boy oh boy! The red head is built all right. Though, the blonde woman sure has a cute face. That scar on her right cheek really gives her such distinction."

The toilet flushed mechanically as the soldier stood up and picked his gun up. Snake scooted back as he went to the other path where the green dot was blinking. It carried him forward where he saw two more open shafts. The one closest to him seemed like someone was tampering with it.

He viewed inside the cracks of the duct to see two women. From the bed to toilet seat, it was a prison cell. A red haired woman was helping the grounded blonde one up who was rubbing the back of her head.

"Women? Not him," Snake crawled over to the second duct. He noticed that the green dot was blinking harder.

Reaching the duct, he looked inside to see an anxious black man sitting on the bed twiddling his fingers. Twisting the tails of the nails, he carefully flipped the duct off the opening.

The black man was wearing a red, yellow polka dot tie and a white shirt with black, dress pants. He looked up startled by the noise, "Who's that?"

Placing the duct on the other side of the space, Snake's fingers wrapped around the edges of the outside and slid his body out of the vent.

Snake flipped backwards as he landed on the ground making the old black man stand up spooked. A sink in front of the man was dripping water from the faucet.

Snake stared at the man's dark eyes as he stood up, "I'm here to save you. You're the Darpa Chief, Donald Anderson, right?"

* * *

"I'm okay," Angel was rubbing her head as Meryl picked her up from the dusty floor.

"That's going to be a bruise," Meryl playfully shot at Angel who smiled at her.

"Well…" she looked up at the vent defeated, "that duct is too stubborn to come off."

"So much for plan A," Meryl kicked the toilet in anger.

"So…" Angel paced towards the door, "we try plan B."

"How many plans do you have," Meryl's hands were on her hips.

Her back was turned from Meryl. She peered outside the rectangular hole on the silver cell door. The guard was staring at her holding his stomach. He went back to the bathroom with a groan of annoyance.

She turned her head and smirked, "All the way to plan C."

"You plan ahead, don't you," Meryl, even though she seemed to like Angel, that woman always seems to amaze her.

She seemed to have this glow all around her. Her presence was so strong and captivating though when you look at her at first, her fragile appearance makes you underestimate her. Meryl stared at Angel as a field of power seemed to force her to listen to Angel. It was strange yet dangerously confusing. A power of trust, confidence, and reassurance fueled her aura.

"Meryl," Angel gave a very look of confusion and worry, "are you all right?"

Feeling embarrassed, Meryl turned around, "I'm fine!"

* * *

"You're here to save me, huh," he backed away from the strange man in a blue sneaking suit, "What's your outfit?"

Infuriated, Snake raised his blue gloved hands in the air, "I'm the pawn they sent to save your worthless butt."

The Darpa Chief examined the man one more time, "Really?"

Nervously, the man sat back down on the bed convinced, "Sorry, I thought you were here to kill me. Hurry and get me out of here!"

He seemed desperate but Snake wanted information out of him before he escaped, "Slow down. Don't worry. First, I need information…about the terrorists."

"Sure, what do you need to know?"

"Do they really have the ability to launch a nuke? The terrorists are threatening the White House. They say if they don't accede to their demands, they'll launch a nuclear weapon."

"Sweet Jesus," Anderson shook his head soberly.

Snake walked in front of the man and demanded an answer "Is it possible?"

Fidgeting his feet uncomfortably, the Darpa Chief put his hands over his face, "Yes, it's true they... can launch a nuke."

"How is that possible," Snake couldn't believe that the terrorists can, "This place is for dismantled warheads. They shouldn't even have access to a nuke."

* * *

Angel paced around watching Meryl exercise but she lost focus when her eyes got tired seeing Meryl's body swerving up and down.

Against the wall across the bed, Angel sat on the floor with her knees touching her forehead. Her head was facing the clothes on her petite figure. A dim whisper tickled her ears. Her head shot up as did Meryl's.

"Huh," Meryl quietly placed her ear on the pasty, green wall, "someone is talking to the Darpa Chief."

Tip-toeing, Angel carefully got on top of the bed and placed her ear on the wall. The Darpa Chief's smooth, deep voice was overlapped by a gruffy, strong one.

* * *

Anderson got off the bed and walked towards Snake, "What I'm about to tell you is classified information."

Snake noticed the man's cautious nature as he softly spoke, " We were conducting exercises with a new type of experimential weapon. A weapon that will change the world."

Snake heard that phrase before.

"A weapon with an ability to launch a nuke strike from any place on the face of the Earth...a nuclear equipped walking battle tank," Anderson said the last few words like he accomplished something remarkable for the world. A dark smile crept on his face.

The last few words sent a chill down Snake's spine, " Metal Gear...!"

Flashbacks of fighting Metal Gear TX-55 and Metal Gear D entered his mind, "It...can't...be!"


	9. Darpa Chief Part 2

Darpa Chief Part 2

"You were right," Meryl glanced at Angel while her ear was still listening to the conversation, "There is a Metal Gear stored here."

Angel adjusted her position as the bed squeaked, "I guess the rumors were true after all."

Meryl's eyes glowed in anticipation. The voice of the gruff, cool-headed, mysterious man kept her guessing who the intruder was, "I wonder who is talking to the man. He sounds…tough."

"Hmm," Angel took her ear off the wall with the same anticpation and anixety sweeping her body, "whoever he is. It seems he has heard of Metal Gear before. Interesting…"

Putting her ear back against the rock solid wall, they continue to eavesdrop.

* * *

"You knew," the Darpa Chief face curled in astonishment, "Metal Gear is one of the most secret black projects! How did you know that?"

"We had a couple run-ins in the past," Snake remembered defeating Metal Gear TX-55 with plastic explosives to its legs and also defeating Metal Gear D with grenades to its legs as well.

_Two bluish-silver double doors opened wide as a huge dark room revealed itself. Running inside, huge footsteps came out of the shadows like thunder. A gigantic. green tank-like weapon of destruction stared down on the young man wearing a dark green miltary uniform_

_"Snake...I'm not the same as I used to be. And neither is Metal Gear. I'll show you what fear really is. Prepare to taste defeat," a voice echoed in the monster's cockpit._

_A fiery flame of bullets headed his direction as he ready his grenade for attack._

Snake questioned the dark-skinned man, who had his back towards the door, "So that's the reason you were here at this disposal site?"

The man blew air from his nose throwing his arms up in the air, "Why else would I come to a God forsaken place like this?"

"I had heard the Metal Gear project was scrapped," Snake thought but he should have known the government was too stubborn to let go of something that politicians can use to gain power over other countries.

"On the contrary," Anderson rubbed his chin, "it has grown into a huge joint project between ArmsTech and ourselves. We were going to use this exercise as raw data and then proceed to mass production if…"

The Darpa Chief cursed and said something inaudible. Snake curtly shook the man, "What is it?"

Walking past him, the man put his hand on the back of his head. He was rubbing his short, rough, black hair. For a few minutes, the chief was as motionless as a corpse. He seemed conflicted. Turning back towards Snake, the man finally spoke.

"If it hadn't been for the revolution," Anderson shuddered.

"Revolution?"

"Rex has fallen into the hands of terrorists," his eyes wandered to the door behind Snake.

"Rex," Snake was confused.

Seeing his confusion, the chief informed Snake, "Metal Gear Rex…the code name of the Metal Gear prototype. They're probably already finished arming the warhead they plan to use with Rex. These guys are pros."

Snake's instincts were on alert for some reason placing his back against the wall out of the door's eyeshot.

"We hired Foxhound because they are experienced in handling and equipping weapons."

A bang from the door scared the chief as the guard angrily showed his weapon towards the man, "Hey! Shut up in there will ya!"

Waving in apology, the chief watched the guard's back turns towards the adjacent chamber. Peering outside, the man shadowed the guard with his eyes.

Snake whistled in relief and his tense back relaxed to his original position, "But I thought that all nuclear warheads were equipped with safety measures. Some kind of detonation code that you have to input..."

"_Isn't there some kind of safety device to prevent this type of terrorism?" Snake still couldn't believe that the terrorists could get a nuke this quickly._

"_Yes, every missile and warhead in our arsenal is equipped with a PAL which uses a discrete detonation code." Colonel Campbell reassured his friend._

"_PAL?"_

"_Permissive Action Link. The safety control system built into all nuclear weapons systems. But even so, we can't rest easy." the colonel walked soberly._

"_Why not?" Snake noticed the colonel's despondent gesture. _

"_Because the DARPA Chief knows the detonation code."_

Oh, you mean PAL," the chief took his eye off the guard and breathed heavily, "Yes, of course, there is a PAL. It's set up so that you need to input two different passwords in order to launch the device."

"There are two passwords?"

"Yes. Baker knows one, and I know one."

"Baker? The president of ArmsTech?"

"That's right. Each of us needs to input our password or there can be no launch. But...," the man couldn't look at Snake as he ran towards the bed in agony. Grabbing the edge of the bed, his fists turned red, "they found out my password."

"You talked," Snake walked towards the wreck of a man before him. He could see the man almost quivering in pain and shame.

"I…I was tortured," the man's eyes turned red, "Ocelot electrocuted me for hours on end."

"Ocelot… Revolver Ocelot, one of Foxhound's?"

"The very same," Anderson wiped his eyes to pull himself together, "He probably has already tortured Baker."

* * *

"Poor man," Angel shook her head sadly. She couldn't believe they could do that to a civilian of all reasons, but she remembered what the terrorists were doing here.

Ocelot probably didn't care and she would know. Her body quaked at the shocks she suffered from a while ago knowing full well that the chief's weak body will have cracked from the pain earlier than she would, "He didn't deserve that treatment especially from Ocelot…"

Meryl agreed with Angel's statement, "I hope that we can make Ocelot pay." She rammed her fists aggressively against each other.

Angel tried to calm down the fiery red head, "Don't worry! He will get his someday."

* * *

"This is bad. If they find out Baker's password," everything was starting out bad for Snake. The mission was getting complicated even before it started.

Anderson had his head down, "Yes...they will be able to launch the nuke." Suddenly, the chief lifted his head up. His face brightened , "But… there is a way to stop launch even with the codes entered in."

"How?"

"The card keys," the chief smiled.

"Card keys," Snake lifted his eyebrow.

"They were designed by ArmsTech, the system developers, as an emergency override. Even without the passwords, you can just insert the card keys and engage the safety lock..."

"And if I do that," Snake finally understood.

"Yes," the Darpa Chief finished his sentence, "you can stop the launch."

* * *

"Card keys," Meryl whispered, "Baker said someone pick pocketed the card keys he was carrying."

"It wasn't Foxhound, was it," Angel's blue eyes sparkled in hope that the card keys were safe.

"He didn't know," Meryl shrugged her shoulders, "Baker told me he was knocked out right after. I hope he is still okay."

Angel patted Meryl on the shoulder trying to lift her spirits, "Have faith, Meryl. He could be still alive."

Meryl gave her a short smile.

Angel's smile turned mischievous. Meryl noticed it and gave her a smile in return, "What are you planning?"

"I think it's time for plan B."

* * *

"So where are the keys," Snake hoped they were in safe hands.

"They are gone," Anderson saw Snake's face and knew he didn't like how that sounded.

"Don't tell me the terrorists have them," Snake was waiting for an answer.

Backing off, Anderson tried to reassure the interloper, "No, the terrorists are looking for them as well. Foxhound has sent search patrols around to find them to no avail."

"How many card keys are there?"

"There are three card keys," he put three little fingers up, "There are three different slots to put them in. You need to insert a card into each one of them."

"OK," Snake mentally took all the information, "Three cards keys. Do you know where they might be keeping Baker?"

The Darpa Chief sat on the edge of the bed feeling a little woozy, "Somewhere in the 2nd floor basement."

"2nd floor basement?"

"I heard the guard say they moved him to an area that has a lot of electronic jamming," the man's face wandered as if he was wondering if he was missing something.

Snake met the man's eyes, "Any other clues?"

"Oh yes, they cemented over the entrances but didn't have enough time to paint them. Try to look where the walls are a different color," the man stood up and took something out of his pocket. It was a small white card.

"Here, take this. It's my ID card," Snake took the card and placed in his pockets, "It'll open any level one security door. It's called a PAN card. It works together with your body's own electrical field."

"Personal Area Network, huh," he heard of that before.

"It transmits data using the salts in your body as the transmission medium. As you approach the door's security devices, they'll read the data stored in the card..."

"And the doors will open automatically. Gotcha," Snake finished his sentence, "I'm going to get you outta here."

"All right."

The codec in his inner ear rung as Campbell's voice was in relief, "The Darpa Chief is alive."

"Thank God," Naomi showed up on the monitor. She lightheartedly breath a sigh of content.

"Yeah, but the bad news is that the terrorists got his password," Snake gravely noted.

"Damn! That means the terrorists only need Baker's. Your next objective is to find President Baker before they discover his code."

"Alright, but Colonel," Snake's voice gave an air of suspicion. Campbell's face turned pale, "Did you know about Metal Gear being developed here?"

Campbell's eyes drooped, "No…I didn't."

Snake sternly looked at him.

Campbell knew Snake didn't buy that, "Snake, remember I'm just here as your support. The Secretary of Defense has operational control."

Snake didn't believe him for one minute but he decide to ignore it for now as he angrily pushed aside the codec for the time being. He felt a tiny pat on his shoulder, "Do you have a name?"

Looking outside the hole of the cell door, Snake paused for second before answering the man's curious question, "It's Snake."

"Snake, huh," the man seemed familiar with that name, "It suits you."

A loud grunt of pain filled the outside hallway. Screams of pain and cries stroked the ears of the trapped men. Snake waved the chief to come behind him for safety purposes as he placed his pistol close to him. The chief whimpered and crouched with his knees shaking, "What's happening out there?"

He didn't know but Snake was going to find out.


	10. Breakout

Breakout

"It's time for plan B," Angel jumped off the bed and got back on top of the toilet seat standing dangerously over the edge.

Meryl jumped off too with a face of irritation and anxiety towards her cellmate, "We already tried that remember!"

For the second time, Angel jumped hanging on the small cracks on the duct. Smiling crazy, she let go of the vent on purpose and made a grunt of pain as she fell on the ground face first limply. Meryl walked towards her and shook her shoulders in anger, "What are you doing?"

Golden locks of hair laid over her face. She pulled some strands from her eyes as turned her head slowly and winked at Meryl. Her sapphire eyes were forcefully straining in agony as she closed them slowly. Her fragile body wasn't moving at all like she was dead.

Meryl scratched her smooth, red hair. She glanced at the insane woman with eyes of mystification. Then something clicked in her mind as she realized what Angel was trying to do. She hit her forehead with the palm of her hand in inanity for not thinking of it sooner.

"Help," she ran towards the door and screamed for the guard.

Meryl banged on the cell door to get the guard's attention. His light, brown eyes appeared through the rectangular hole on the silver door for watching the prisoners, "What the hell?"

He eyed Angel's body on the ground with astonishment. The stuttering guard opened the cell door and clumsily placed his automatic weapon down against the wall on the right side of him. Meryl gave the guard space as he ran towards the phony, injured woman at the end of the room.

The guard bent down feeling the woman's pulse on her neck side. As he was checking out the woman, Meryl grabbed the man's automatic rifle. Making sure the safety lock was on, she held the gun's barrel with her fingers. The huge handle at the end of the weapon was held in the air. If she wasn't so muscular, the weight of the gun will have fallen on the ground.

Still, the young guard wasn't paying any attention to her as she crept slowly towards the unaware, green uniformed man. She raised the handle of the gun up in the air ready to strike the man's head.

"Wait a…Oof," it was too late for the guard to realize what was going on when a slash of black filled the man's eyes as he murmured in pain.

The guard limply fell on his side moaning in pain before he motioned into unconsciousness. A groan came from Angel as she stood up. She looked at the knocked out guard and back to Meryl, "Good job!"

Angel searched the guard as he was breathing slowly. Lazily pushed over his black belt was a pistol of some kind probably a .95 millimeter. She slipped the pistol off his belt and showed it to the dim light on the ceiling. The dark silver pistol was very lightweight. It's design almost appeared to be a desert eagle from the distance except if you look closer, it was skinnier.

Angel checked the ammo in the clip. The clip was almost empty. She looked back at the unconscious soldier with a smile mixed between tenderness and surprise, "Thanks for holding on to this, Johnny."

She sat up and reattached the ammo clip back to the gun's handle. Angel cocked her newly found weapon with ease and twirled it in a circle once before placing the silver .95 mm in her right gun holder. Angel was walking out of the cell when she turned her head towards Meryl who was eyeing the guard's uniform in thought. Her face lid up with the idea she was reflecting on as she stared at the green uniform. Meryl grabbed the man's heavy emerald coat. As she removed it from his skinny body, an ear piece with a wired transceiver and monitor fell on the floor, "Huh?"

"It must be an old version of the codec system," Angel blurted out as Meryl picked the ear piece up leaving the transciever and monitor dangling above the ground.

"Old version," she mumbled as she attached the ear piece in her right ear. Dropping the green coat, she grabbed the transceiver and monitor and hooked it up on her belt. The ear piece made a whirring sound as she pushed a button under the monitor.

Angel stretched her arms while Meryl took the ear piece off and laid the codec on the ground for later.

Going for her idea, she picked off the man's undershirt carefully. Meryl put the man's black, long sleeve undershirt over her dark green tank top. Next was the man's coat like fatigue. The green, heavy coat was a slip on, which fitted perfectly around her torso, when she delicately wore it over the undershirt. Reaching all the way to her waistline, she grabbed the end of the man's polished black belt. Unbuckling it, Meryl carefully slipped the green pants from the man making sure that she wasn't taking the man's underwear with it. Jiggling them off his scrawny legs, which exposed his blue-striped boxers, Meryl put the pants over top her olive shaded khakis. It was a struggle as her pants had a gun holder around her thigh and a knife holder on her lower left leg. It was a little tight on her behind. She buckled the belt around the cloth straps all around the rim of the pants. A snap of metal clashed when she met the two ends of the belt securing the fastener. She jiggled her legs and spread some wrinkles that formed on her disguise with her hands. Eyeing the black straps around her chest, she walked over to pick up the man's weapon.

Taking the codec system off the ground, she again placed the ear piece back in her ear. Hooking the transceiver on the cliff of her disguise's pants, she switched it on. Heading out of the cell, Angel cleared her throat that hid a certain message of attention,"What?" Meryl had the gun placed across her hands holding both ends.

"Aren't you forgetting something," Angel pointed at the balaclava still covering their prison guard's face.

Meryl followed her finger, "Oh!"

Placing her weapon against the wall, Meryl bent over the man and grabbed the end of the cloth-like material that obscured his face. She struggled to get the man's black balaclava off his face. Finally, it snapped tightly towards her exposing the man's short, dark blonde hair. Opening the mouth of the mask, she covered her short, curved end, red hair and face completing the disguise.

Her mumbled breathing was a sigh of uncomfortable distress. Bending over to pick up her weapon, she sighed again, "It's tight especially on my butt!"

Angel shook her head as Meryl stepped out of the cell with her hazelnut eyes staring at the adjacent cell, "It's quiet in there. Too quiet."

"I'll go find Baker," Angel ran towards the door with a one pasted on its upper corner, "I'll let you handle our mystery guest over there."

Meryl was content yet uneasy, "Finally! I get some action!"

"Don't get too excited. My frequency is 140.77. Contact me if you're in trouble or need anything," Angel was about to go when she looked back at Meryl one more time, "Don't get yourself killed. Okay!"

She stepped outside to the cobalt walls staring at her as the door locked behind her. Still standing near the doorway, she felt an air of danger of shadowy eyes watching her. She heard a raspy laugh echoing on the walls. Running towards the elevator to her right, her instincts kicked in as she pushed the up arrow on the elevator's control panel. Footsteps crashed on metal like a stampede above her. Angel didn't like the sound of that nor did she want to find out what it was. She ran to the door on her left that led into a place she totally didn't want to stay in.

It was the torture room. The torture machine was deactivated, but the room still smelled like burnt flesh and blood. She choked from the fumes as she heard quiet whispers of orders in the hallway behind her.

* * *

"Contact her? How? She doesn't have a codec," Meryl contemplated but dropped the subject. That woman was in a class of herself.

Meryl decided to drag the half-naked man's body outside of the cell. His boxer covered butt was sticking up in the air as he was still in a daze. Eyeing the cell where the chief and the mysterious man, Meryl clasped her weapon tightly and took heavy breaths as she walked across the door. Reaching inside her pockets, she felt a smooth card inside. As she took the card out, the mechanism of the prison's door went green.

The door opened in a flash as she hid in its corner away from the sight of the cell's light. Dim sounds of whimpering and shadows were heading towards the exit. Meryl finally saw the stranger as he peeked his whole body out. He was dark brown hair man who was wearing the same uniform that her new friend, Angel, wore. Though, the man's was in different tones of blue not white like Angel's. A short, blue bandana was wrapped around his forehead to behind his skull. His head turned toward the almost naked body of the guard giving her a chance to surprise him.

Aiming the weapon very close to his head, the man froze as she poked her weapon, "Don't move."


	11. Casualties

Casualties

The Darpa chief was still whimpering behind him as he saw a blonde hair woman exit to the azure hallway.

"Huh," he didn't get a good look at her face as the door shut right after she stepped out.

"Oh, I forgot to tell…shh!" Snake put his finger against his lip to make his message clear to the petrified dark skinned man. Anderson shook his head slowly as a shadow skimmed across their door. A beep noise from their door's mechanism made their ears perk up.

Miraculously, the cell door opened. Snake made one step outside and gradually poked his head to the left side of the cell. A naked body made his stare, "What the..?"

"Don't move," a feminine voice yelled out.

Snake froze as he felt a gun barrel against his skull. A person covered in a green uniform like the terrorist's was holding him up.

"Mr. Anderson," she showed real concern in her voice, "are you okay?"

Snake used this distraction to turn his whole body towards her. He saw her soft, hazelnut eyes stared at him in disbelief, "Liquid!"

"_Liquid? Is she talking about the terrorist's leader?"_

Her eyes rolled all over his face and hair twice, "No…you're not."

During her perplexity, he bent his body forward like a snake ready to bite. The woman stretched her weapon at him, "I said don't move!"

Her black-gloved hands were violently trembling as her eyes wandered at the man's body, the Darpa Chief, and back to his face. Her thin, index finger was on the trigger ready to shoot, but it paced back and forth nervously away from the trigger. She was nervous. Terrified, she was hesitant to fill his body with sharp, bloodthirsty bullets from her FAMAS. He examined her eyes and with his experience, her eyes were easy to read.

"_Those eyes….they are not soldier's eyes."_

"Is this the first time you ever pointed a gun at a person," Snake tempted the soldier, "your hands are shaking."

Her quivering sigh acknowledged him to continue as he pulled his SOCOM out to dare the on edge woman in front of him, "Can you shoot me, rookie?"

Trying to be as tough as him, her eyes sternly glanced at him as though she was insulted, "Careful! I'm no rookie.

Snake scoffed, "Liar! That nervous glance…that scared look in your eyes. They're rookie's eyes if I ever saw them."

He closely watched as the woman felt overwhelmed by his words. Her weaknesses were showing her alarming quivering body. Her rookie eyes were not bloody by combat they were clear of any guilt or battle.

"You've never shot a person, am I right?"

Anger filled her gaze, "You talk too much!"

"You haven't even taken the safety off, rookie!"

She didn't take his bait as she put her foot down, "I told you I'm no rookie!"

"You're not one of them, are you?"

She took a quick glance at the door behind her before she met his gape, "Open that door. You got a card, don't you?"

"Why," he inquired.

"So we can get the hell out of here," the strength in her voice was quickened as she stepped back from the door that opened behind her.

The Darpa chief screamed as guards entered the area. He scattered under the bed holding his head with his hands whimpering in fear. Snake backed off across the woman as three blue uniform, armored helmet guards pulled out their FAMAS. Aiming his pistol at the guards, he peered at the woman next to him, who was still hesitant to pull the trigger of her gun.

"What are you doing? Don't think. Shoot!"

As an alarm rumbled the hallways, he fired his weapon at the guards before they had a chance to fire theirs. One by one he pounded streams of bullets into each of soldiers' bodies. As the bodies of the three men fell on the bloody mess, he reloaded his weapon before more arrived at the scene.

She still couldn't pull the trigger. Her mind wandered in fear and doubt. She stared at the blood and gore that all the three soldiers caused as her face seemed to glow pale. Biting her lip to keep back a whimper, Snake tried to snap her out of it.

"What are you waiting for," he yelled at her callously, "Shoot!"

"Don't talk to me like a rookie," her strong, irritated voice didn't match her weak stance.

"I'm telling you! Shoot!" Three more guards came towards them.

Finally, the woman pulled the trigger of the trembling FAMAS screaming her head off. Bullets veered randomly across the guards' bodies nearly tearing them in half. Blood spluttered on the walls pouring on the ground. Their bodies crashed down onto each other. Reloading her weapon, her eyes grew dark with blood.

Suddenly, a shriek came from the cell where the Darpa chief was hiding. He ran out of the cell staring at the carcasses that were leaking drops of blood at every corner.

"Get back in the cell," Snake shouted at the man who was now freaking out. The man had his hands over his face in despair and horror.

"I can't! It's…It's…I got to get out of this nightmare," he ran outside the hallway area when he stopped at a bark of orders. Turning to his right, his knees clattered.

The man waved his hands in agony and put them together pleading for his life, "Please….stop...NOOOO!"

The chief shook as every bullet penetrated his body. Holes of blood appeared in his now stained white shirt especially his chest area, which turned black as ink. His red, yellow polka dot tie was ripped in half from the sheer power of the sharp rounds flowing towards him. Finally after minutes of brutality, he succumbed to his wounds. Coughing up a storm of blood, the chief fell forward on the floor with a spatter.

Snake was used to this type of cruelty for all his life. His face showed indifference but the rookie next to him wasn't. She screamed as she stared at the poor man's disfigured body. More guards came through the door.

Enraged, the rookie fired more shots as Snake followed her lead. A click from the hammer of his gun caused Snake to growl, "No ammo!"

That was not good. More guards were coming and his weapon was empty. A click came from the woman's weapon as well, "Damn!" It would take a miracle for both of them to get out alive.

All of a sudden, some of the guards screamed in agony. Shots were fired as the guards fell down from an inexplicable source. No more guards were coming in the room and the alarm was settling down as well.

"Who helped us?"

The rookie walked over the bloody heap of corpses piled in front of the door leading out of the holding cells. She peeked at the body of the Darpa Chief then turned towards Snake, "Thanks for the help!"

"Wait," Snake yelled as he placed his empty weapon back in his gun holder. Following the rookie, he saw her heading towards the elevator he rode to get down here. He couldn't help but stare at her behind wobbling with her hips dancing side to side.

"Who are you," Snake asked as the woman continued to run. His eyes were covered in a white shade. As the white turned into static, he saw three figures standing near a dark skinned man who was shingled to some type of bed. The one with shoulder length blond hair was in the middle staring at the man with fiery. The figure on the right was wearing a dark trench coat with his mask covered in a gas mask.

_"What is your code," the figure on the far left with gray-hair was pushing buttons on a console, "Make it easy on yourself!"_

_"Never!"_

_"Come on! Be reasonable if you cooperate, we won't kill you!"_

_Electricity flew through the man's skull as the man called out in surrender, "Ok, I'll tell you but let me make you guys a deal you can't refuse!"_

The dream disappeared as Snake came back into reality. He peered as he remembered what he was doing before that strange occurance happened. As she pushed the button on the elevator control panel, she twirled around with her gun aimed straight at him. Bullets were zooming towards him as he rolled over against the wall to miss the woman's feeble attempt to subdue him. Before he could resume chasing her, the elevator doors opened, and she stepped back into the elevator. She raised her fist in the air triumphantly as the doors closed in front of her.

A ghostly wind blew as a shadowy figure danced like water in front of the elevator doors. For what he could tell, the ghost wore a dark trench coat and gas mask.

"Good girl," its voice was spooky in manner, "Just like that!" The figure dissolved in thin air.

The codec ringed in his ear as Campbell's face was melancholy, "Sorry about the Darpa Chief, Snake. The only thing you can do now is locate President Baker."

"Naomi," Snake called out, "I just had some kind of hallucination. Is it from the nanomachines?"

"No, Snake. Your nanomachines are walking properly," she analzyed the nanomachines inside his bodies on her computer monitor. They all looked normal from what she saw.

"Then what was that?"

"It must be psychometric interference from Psycho Mantis, Foxhound's psychic."

"So…" Snake finally saw one of Foxhound's primary members, "that was Mantis."

Knowing full well he was going to need some ammo, he pick pocketed some of the down guards in the hallway. He was in thought as he tried to figure out who that female soldier was. Also he was asking himself who save them from certain death back there, but he ignored the questions floating in his mind. Snake had to focus on his next objective, which was rescuing President of ArmsTech, Kenneth Baker.


	12. Bloody Hands

Bloody Hands

Meryl's heart was beating faster than she ever felt it before. Her arm muscles were tense from holding her FAMAS as her legs were hard as rocks from running away. The sensation of danger caused her whole body to be on alert and ready for anything. Seeing all those bodies falling to the floor made her crazy as she rushed to the elevator. She rushed through the poor Darpa chief's shattered body to get out of the ghastly stench of blood. A thumping pain in her skull almost made her black-out as she didn't realized what was going on.

Seemly fazed, the rumbling noise of the elevator gave her a sigh of relief hoping that she won't have to see that area again. Dropping her weapon in anguish, she looked into her hands that caused the deaths of the soldiers she killed. Her hazelnut eyes could only see vivid red dripping on her black gloves. They shivered in the river of blood.

_"What's wrong with me?"_

Her mind was forcing her conscience to swallow her soul as memories of the past minutes at that dreadful area floated back. Bullets that she shot seemed to come back to bite her. In her stomach, she felt a tug of nausea. Something was crawling up her throat forcing her cheeks to turn green. She was about to vomit but she swallowed the guilt and blood back down her body. A chime forced her to regain her sanity as she grabbed her weapon from the ground and assumed her position. Sweat dripped from her disguise as she stepped out from the elevator. She saw two green uniformed guards beside puke green tanks. The doors closed behind her as the elevator went back down.

_"I wonder how Angel's doing?"_

That name put her body in full stop as she remembered Angel giving her codec frequency to her before leaving her with the strange man who appeared almost like the terrorists' leader. Something about that guy looked familiar. She couldn't figure it out. Since the guards outside were too busy, she pushed the monitor of her codec on. The little screen had a dim green light and it's default number 140.00. Her wired ear piece vibrated her eardrum to let her know that it was receiving. On the monitor, she pushed in the arrows below the small screen that controlled the frequency numbers until she reached 140.77.

The "enter" button was right next to the arrow as she pushed her thumb upon it. A ring echoed in her ear. She tried again but no answer.

Her face was full of worry for her new friend when there was no answer., "I hope she's all right. Maybe she didn't find a codec yet." Meryl was making a lot of excuses just to keep her mind from thinking about death.

When she was about to give up, a small, tender voice made her nearly jump for joy, "Hello…"

"Angel! It's me…Meryl!"

Angel stared into the monitor a little confused until her eyes widened in recognition remembering her disguise, "Meryl…are you okay? Where are you?"

"I'm at the tank hangar. How about you?"

Angel seemed distracted as her head tilted side to side. From the look on the monitor, her body was swaying against a wall, "I'm in the second basement. The armory section. I just hope Baker is still okay."

"Oh," Meryl's voice seemed distracted, "well, I'm glad we're both still alive. Where did you get your codec?"

"The torture room. Also, I found a knife lying on a table. That should prove useful though I'm not a big fan of blades."

Angel caught Meryl's eyes drooping. She studied Meryl's face with concern, "What's wrong?"

"It's…" Meryl stumbled. She couldn't find the right words, "Angel, have you killed anyone yet?"

Angel nodded sadly, "Yes. Before I entered the elevator coming here, I...sadly...had to kill three guards. It was messy. For a moment, I smelt and saw blood all over me though it was just my mind playing tricks on me."

"So it was you that helped us back there?"

Angel smiled shortly, "Yep! I thought I could give you guys a hand before making a getaway. I'm sorry though. Maybe I should have stay."

Meryl saw how she felt responsible as Angel's sapphire eyes were full of self-loathing, "No, don't apologize! I don't blame you." Angel didn't seem convinced though.

"Angel," flashes of the Darpa chief's disfigured body and face entered her mind, "The Darpa chief is dead."

Angel's blue eyes were stunned as the words popped in the wind, "No way!"

"There was blood everywhere! I had to kill those guards. My hands were shaking like a crazy. I couldn't pull the trigger! The man…the man," Meryl had her hands over her balaclava.

"Calm down, Meryl!"

"How can I calm down," she screamed in the codec, "I'm a killer! I just took away lives. I can't get those images out of my head!"

Silence filled the codec as Angel twisted her face in sympathy, "Listen, this is what my stepfather always told me in training. War is about survival. Your mission is to survive. They were trying to kill you, right? You had no choice in the matter."

"But…they were," her eyes turned pale as images of horror entered her mind.

Angel glanced behind herself before she looked back into the monitor, "Meryl, you're just a little jumpy. Take some deep breaths."

"My hands are drenched. Angel, I can't…"

"Meryl," Angel's tone became serious and firm, "listen, your feelings are pure. It's understandable. The killing that you do here is in self-defense only. Stay focused! I need you to do that for me."

"Okay," Meryl timidly agreed.

"Meryl, after this,' Angel really seemed sincere in her words. You couldn't turn away from her words. It was strange like a force in her voice demanded attention, "I want you to really think whether or not you are ready. Even though you feel guilty, you are not a bad person. Remember that! Those guys you killed wouldn't have hestiated to fire on you. This is not Foxhound anymore. They are terrorists now and they need to be stopped."

Meryl gave another timid nod. Even Angel's face was full of sorrow as she whispered those words to Meryl.

Angel's face showed tenderness towards Meryl, "Hey Meryl! Do you see another elevator? I think it's by the cargo bay door."

On her left side, she spotted the other elevator just where Angel said it was, "Yes, I see it!"

"Ride that elevator towards the surveillance room which is under the Tank Hangar," Angel tried to remember from memory where to go, " The cargo bay doors can also be opened from a computer console underneath it, so when our stranger comes you can open the door for him. After that, you can also go through some double doors that lead to a cave-like tunnel. A little shortcut to the Warhead Storage Building."

"Why?"

"Our man will need to go that way in order to enter the Nuclear Warhead Storage Building. Besides, it will give you a chance to cool off and settle down until more action arrives."

"Couldn't he just use this elevator?"

"That elevator is watched from a inside camera. Only Genome soldiers and the primary members of Foxhound can enter the room. He will be dead in a second."

"Oh," Meryl felt stupid, "Okay, thanks Angel."

Angel welcomed the appreciation, "Just remember we rookies have to stick together! Call me if you need anything okay? I'll be here."

The words smoothed some of Meryl's edginess, "Thank you, Angel." She turned off the monitor of her codec and the transceiver lights grew dimmer and dimmer as she switched it off.

Meryl still couldn't help but think about the soldier who helped her in the holding cells. His face structure was like Liquid's except his hair was a smooth black color while Liquid had longer, ragged, blonde hair. Their eyes had the same blue color from what she could tell.

Her hips swayed as she headed towards the second elevator. The guards in the back were making a fussy commotion as she reached the elevator. Before she can push the black, bold arrow pointing up, the elevators doors magically opened as a huge, chocolate color man wearing only dark pants walked out of the elevator. Meryl looked in awe at the huge man's muscular build. Muscles, literally, busted out of his upper arms. His forehead and most of his torso and arms were tattooed with strange birds and symbols. She didn't realize that she was in his way until the man cleared his hoarse throat.

"Carry on," his booming whisper of a voice made her regain a proper stance as she stepped out of his way. Walking inside the cramped elevator, she blew breaths of relief. The doors closed as she pushed the down arrow on the control panel. Looking down on her tightly, clenched hands on the FAMAS, she couldn't help but see blood on them. She knew her hands were not clean anymore, and the blood strains will stay with her for an eternity.

_"Father...is this what you had to go through?"_


	13. Kenneth Baker

Baker Part 1

"She'll be fine," she pushed into her inner ear to turn her codec off. Meryl was strong and with her out of danger's way for awhile, Angel can focus on getting Baker.

Angel looked at the supplies she salvaged from the armory's six miniature rooms. She had three rations, which were wrapped like a candy bar, and a first aid kit in her pallid uniform's pockets. Six, wrinkled green grenades were attached to the back of her belt. There were C4 and rifles in two of the rooms but she didn't need them. Only couple of boxes of .95 mm bullets was found. It would seem the building only had .45 mm bullets.

"I got to use these sparingly," she looked at her little pockets with ammo clips inside them. The knife she also found in that dreadful torture room laid sideways on her thigh. She was lucky she found a loose knife holder in one of the rooms to place it in.

A ding from the end of the armory startled her as she looked back to see a man in a blue sneaking suit walk around the corner of one of the rooms. Angel cursed herself for not paying any attention. Walking backwards, she was not thinking as the dark silverish door with a four pasted on its upper corner opened. She tripped inside the room.

"Huh," she scooted backwards and rubbed her butt as the door closed automatically.

Surveying her surroundings, the whole room was shaped in a small square with four blue tinted walls. Paint was peeling off them as cracks seeped from the corners. Her white boots slid on the metal cracks of the floor. In the middle of the room, five half steel-half concrete pillars held the old, damaged roof. Strings of wires connected and wrapped themselves around the pillars holding something in place. A groan from behind the fifth pillar made her realize she wasn't alone.

Slowly, she strolled around the pillar eyeing the wires with caution. As she reached the other side of the room, an old man with hair reaching ear to ear was shivering in fright. His whole, flabby body was wrapped tightly around the wires which kept Angel from getting any closer. The old man was wearing a light tan coat over his shoulders. Underneath was a dark brown overshirt over a white t-shirt with a red tie. His brown pants and brown, dress shoes completed the uniform of a businessman.

She knew who he was from before, "Baker!"

The man's eyes were half closed as he struggled to talk, "Who's there?"

Trying to open his eyes to see who called out his name, Angel took a step forward making him panic, "No! Don't come any closer!"

"Baker, it's me," Angel tried to remind the broken, old man.

"The wires….are booby trapped," Baker coughed violently. His coughing was raucous because of the cold air. Literally, this room's temperature was very low. The man was probably suffering a cold or worse…pneumonia.

Angel looked at the wires charily. She noticed that the wires were connected to explosives attached to the steel portion of the pillars.

"C4," Angel yelled out. She studied the box-shaped C4 at each pillar with disdain. This wasn't going to be easy. Touching the wires will set off the explosives. There was only one way to get him out of there.

Baker saw Angel steadily climbing on one of the pillars. His face turned pale as he bellowed, "What are you doing? Are you crazy?"

His screams fell on deaf ears as Angel was doing something only insane people will think of.

* * *

Snake walked out of the elevator into the second basement's armory. As he could tell, three rooms horizontally filled his vision. He could also see rusty pipes carrying roaring water through the ceiling. Taking a peek from his radar, three small rooms occupied behind these rooms as well. From the range on his map, there were no signals of guards or patrols. The area was safe for exploring for the time being at least.

The doors to enter the rooms were on the other side. He ran around the corners of the room that had its brick back against the elevator. As he ran, one of the tiles on the ground shook. It took a second for him realized that booby traps were set for him. The tiles opened as he swiftly ran. The tiles quickly closed just as they opened.

"Better watch my step for now on," he growled.

The room in the middle had a door with a one pasted on it. The room on its left had a five on it and the one of the right had a three on its door. The middle room was the only one he could enter because the Darpa Chief's card was only level one.

As he stepped inside the small room, there were thin lockers on each side of the cramped room. The soiled, black lockers were opened clumsily. Nothing was in any of them if there was, someone must have got into them before him. On the ground, he saw packets of C4.

"C4," they were enclosed in a small rectangular, air-proof box to keep it from igniting from the atmosphere.

Without a second thought, he grabbed the C4. The detonator was taped on the black box to keep from being lost. The C4 fitted perfectly on his belt as the detonator with it. He probably could use the C4 to get through those cemented walls that the chief was talking about. Since the room had nothing more valuable to give, he left the room as it was. Snake headed towards the three rooms at the back of the armory. The one in the middle had its door opened as he ran inside. Wooden crates and boxes were on the ground like they have been knocked off. Knocking the crates over to get out of his path, there were some .45 ammo clips scattered on the hard, tiled floor. He only picked up a couple because of limited space on his belt.

Walking outside of the open room, the room on his left had a two on its door so the only one left was on his right. He peeked inside to see nothing but dust. It was empty. The door closed in front of him as he turned away.

Suddenly, he spotted a weird splotch of a light white near the corner of the armory he was closest to. Snake knew that it had to cement as the walls were grayish not white. He knew that had to be the entrance that the chief was talking about.

"Time to use the C4," Snake grabbed the C4 pouch from his belt. He opened the velcro to tear a piece of the hard, rock colored substance. He walked towards the cement and smeared the plastic into a random shape. Running to a clear distance, he picked up the detonator.

"Boom."

He went through the blackened, jagged hole he created to see yucky, half-painted, green walls. He took a peek at his radar knowing from what the chief said will be scrambled and jammed.

* * *

Baker was sweating as he watched Angel messing with the C4 attached to the fourth pillar.

"Almost done," she grunted as she jiggled her knife. Slowly, the C4 sparked a little which made Baker whimper uncontrollably.

"Just keep praying, Baker," Angel yelled out. As the box was deactivated, the plastic dropped on the ground making the wires bend. Baker fell on the ground moaning and breathing heavily.

"Alright," she jumped off the pillar and ran towards the grounded Baker, "now let's get you outta here!"

She picked the old man up from the floor slowly placing his left arm around her neck. The old man's legs limped all the way to the wall where Angel sat him down. Baker picked up his cane which was lying against the wall.

She noticed his right arm was covered over the coat, "What happened to your arm?"

Baker looked at his right arm in pain, "Ocelot broke it before he tied me up here."

"What," Angel looked at the man but her eyes wandered to the ground of metal, "Ocelot was here."

"That bastard loved any minute of it," he coughed as he struggled to breathe.

Angel bend down to the man's eye level and put a comforting pat on his shoulder, "Take it easy for now."

The old man nodded as his face was full of sorrow, "I can't believe I talked."

She didn't know what he was talking about as Kenneth Baker hit his cane vigorously, "I gave them my password and they probably can launch right now."

Anyone will be yelling at this old man for talking but she knew this old man wasn't military. He was a civilian caught in a terrorist action that he wasn't prepared for, "Well, the only thing we can do know is find those card keys."

"I'm glad that the female soldier is okay," Baker sniffed.

"What female soldier," saying those words made her mind flash back to her friend, "You mean Meryl?"

"Yeah," Baker's breath was smoking around the cold air, "she has been contacting me through her codec."

"Right," Angel smiled.

Baker reached into his right coat pocket and pulled out a black disk case, "Here this is what you wanted earlier."

"Thanks," Angel appreciated the man's help, "Okay, let's get you…"

A dim explosion from behind her perked up her senses, "What?"

A bullet seized past the top of her head hitting the wall. The hole was an inch away from Baker's head making the old man shout.

A chuckled crept behind her, "I was expecting someone else. You're not supposed to be here." The stumpy, sinister voice caused Angel to growl and to turn.

Twirling his revolver around his finger, the gray-haired man behind her was wearing a russet trench coat. His whole uniform was of a stereotypical western. He had the buttoned up blue vest over his white shirt with a red tie all the way down to his pants that matched his vest. He even had the tan cowboy boots with flat heels and sharp spurs at the ankle. A leather gun holder on his waist was tilted forward so the man can pull his revolver out real quick. His gray, combed moustache twitched as he laughed at the woman.

Angel whispered something in Baker's ear as an explosion on her left made her run. Ocelot fired a couple of bullets at her as she zoomed out of the door on the other side of the room.

Ocelot grunted in frustration, "Don't worry, my dear. You can't run forever."

* * *

As the smoke cleared, Snake entered the hidden room with blue tinted walls. C4 with wires attached to them laid on the ground messily near the pillars in the middle of the room. He stepped and looked to his left to see an old man nervously whimpering.

When he ran towards the old man, a bullet smoked the ground next to his feet forcing him to stop suddenly. A man wearing cowboy clothing with a revolver smoking from the barrel stared at Snake with a primal instinct, "Stop right there! In order to save the old man, you have to get through me."

"I am Special Operations Foxhound... Revolver Ocelot," as he was introducing himself, Ocelot was twirling his revolver with a style. His face was full of joy as the revolver's silver lining shrone dangerously at Snake.

Snake pulled out his gun, aiming it's laser sight at Ocelot. His body didn't even flinched at the man's gunplay. Ocelot caressed the long, silver barrel of the gun, "This is the greatest handgun ever made, the Colt Single Action Army.

"Six bullets," he emptied his ammo and swiftly replaced them with six, fresh bullets, "More than enough to kill anything that moves."

He slammed his barrel back in place, "Now, I'll show you why they call me...Revolver." Giving his gun one last twirl, the revolver slid inside his leather gun holder. Snake decided to humor the man though he had his hands clinching near his SOCOM pistol ready for anything.

Ocelot fidgeted his fingers near his revolver as Snake and him had a stare down for a second until Ocelot stepped forward, "Draw!"

* * *

Angel was still in the armory contemplating what she should do. She was hitting herself over the head for leaving Baker in the hands of a sadistic monster and a mysterious man who she doesn't know.

She was against the wall sighing in frustration of herself for making rash moves. She eyed the hole that the stranger made with the C4. Walking near just to be somewhere, she looked inside blankly. Turning around to stare at cardboard boxes against one of the main armory's walls, a silhoutte of man flashed in her eyes. It was like lightning as it disappeared from her vision. Distortion static of voices filled her ears as she ran to the flash of lightning. Nothing but thin air struck her presence. Sidestepping towards the middle hall that separate the six rooms, she saw the sparks as a red light grew from it's top.

Walking delicately, she stepped forward timidly. Looking to her left, the door of the room had an one on it. She studied the door nervously, "Maybe, it went in here."

Her idea went out of her mind as her heart beats grew large. Blood rushed frantically in her body as she turned her head forward. Her senses went in high alert as a sliver, sharp sword flew towards her in an incredible speed. The sword was aiming straight at her head!

"Uh-oh!"


	14. A Gunslinger and Cyborg Ninja

**Author's Notes: **This is my first time writing two fight scenes at a time. I hope it's all right. Criticisms will be very helpful because I didn't know how hard fight scenes are to write! So enjoy, and please tell me what you think. Thanks to everyone who is reading this!

A Gunslinger and Cyborg Ninja

He shot two bullets straight at Ocelot but they missed as did Ocelot. Ocelot ran around to the other side to try and get Snake from behind as he had his back against one of the pillars.

His codec beeped. Naomi's tone was in a very serious yet had a professional influence to it.

"Revolver Ocelot is a former member of Spetsnaz. After the fall of the Soviet Union, he apparently served in the Russian Tax Police's elite swat team. After that, he joined the SVR, the Russian Foreign Intelligence Agency, which was formerly a part of the KGB. But according to my sources, he was dissatisfied with the rigid system of the KGB and wanted to get out. That's when he was recruited by FOX-HOUND. He's a gun fanatic and totally obsessed with cowboy movies and spaghetti westerns. He's also something of a sadist...," after the word sadist, Naomi's professional neutrality turned into full disdain, "He learned the most advanced torture techniques while he was with Spetsnaz."

"Yeah, he had plenty of practice," Campbell jumped in, "The Lubianka Prison is located right there inside KGB headquarters. In a gunfight, reloading is usually the most dangerous time. But he loves it. Use that to your advantage."

"Hiding won't help you," Ocelot evilly chortled. Snake watched from the left corner of the pillar he was using for cover to see Ocelot fire his revolver straight at the wall. Instead of making a hole in the wall, it skimmed the surface of the wall and bounced towards him.

"What the," he rolled sideways as the bullet zipped past the area he was earlier standing.

"You see," Ocelot yelled joyfully, "I can make these bullets go anywhere I want."

"Damn," Snake cursed silently. He shot at Ocelot but the old man was cowardly hiding against one of the pillars. The bullets only made cracks on the gray rocks of the pillar as he ran around to catch Ocelot. Ocelot made a hand gesture towards him before running the other direction around the five pillars like a square.

"You'll just tire yourself out," Ocelot taunted as Snake was running around the corners of the pillars trying to get a clear shot at Ocelot. Reloading, Snake watched as Ocelot shot another ricocheting bullet his way.

"Watch out, Snake," Master warned, "The muzzle velocity of a bullet fired from that revolver is slower than one fired from an automatic. That's bad for you. The slower a gun's muzzle velocity, the more damage it does. That's cause the bullet will tend to lodge in the body instead of going right through. Those kind of wounds take a long time to heal. Sometimes they never do. I think that's part of the reason he likes that gun. He's a real sick puppy, that Ocelot... The biggest drawback to a revolver is the reload time. That's your chance!"

He knew what he was doing. If Ocelot did the same technique, he will have to reload. Ocelot already used half of his barrel since revolvers only held six bullets. At that moment, he will be ready. He was going to play dumb for awhile making his enemy underestimate him.

"Try to catch me," Ocelot echoed in a daring, sadistic joy. Snake took that dare as he purposely shot at the cowboy.

Ocelot laughed as he missed. Baker, who was on the other side of Snake, was pulling his body together in a half fetal position. Whimpers escaped his mouth as he prayed to escape the fight.

He had to be careful if one of their bullets misfired, it could kill Baker. Ocelot noticed Snake's eyes wander to the old, broken man, "He isn't going to last long!"

The sadist laughed as he ran from one pillar to another. Snake had to end this fight fast.

* * *

She watched as that sharp, silver spike headed towards her like lightning. Though, her reflexes were faster. Bending her torso backwards, she lifted her legs off the ground spreading them apart. The sword went straight through the space between her thin legs as she rolled them backward to complete the back flip. The sword hit the wall behind her with a cling as it slashed through the brick rock.

"Alright," Angel yelled out in the empty hallway, "Come on out! I know you are there."

The distorted voices came louder and louder. Taking her gun out slowly, she walked forward. An eerie sound of nothingness answered her call. Rock moved behind her as a metal slashed against the unknown. She turned around to see the sword that was about to decapitate her gone. Only a streak of black against the rocky wall remained there. Her heart was beating as she felt eyes stalking her.

Her senses heightened. She heard a slow pulse of breathing above her. Slowly looking up, a figure wearing a silver, tanned exoskeleton suit dropped on her. Knocking her gun to the ground, he bent down over her body which was grounded.

Having his sword right on her neck, the ninja like figure stared at her with his red light blinking erratically. Metallic, hollow breathing forced her to cease her own, "Where is my friend?"

The ninja's metallic, deep voice had an eerie, half-dead vibration to it that made her skin crawl. She didn't move a muscle as the sword's cold blade put pressure on her pale neck, "I don't know who you are talking about."

As the ninja lifted his sword, she grabbed his wrist to halt his sword from moving as he was about to cut her head off . With his free hand, the ninja grabbed her by the throat and lifted her up in the air. The ninja threw her at the wall in front of him.

Pain spiked through her back and the back of her neck. The deadly ninja ran toward her with his sword ready to stab her as she steadied her fragile body rubbing the back of her neck aching. Pretending to still be dazed from his blow, she watched as he aimed his sword at her abdomen. By an inch, he missed as she swayed her body away from his sword making the sword dig through the blue, rocky wall. Kneeing him three times in his stomach, he clinched over and backed off. He left his sword dug in the wall.

Angel did a roundhouse kick to his head making him flip over backwards. His feet bounced on the floor making a second backflip countering her move. She ran and punched the ninja as he grabbed her arms with intensity. Throwing her to his left side, she ended up inside one of the rooms of the armory. Her back landed on wooden crates that were scattered on the floor of the compacted room. He stalked her with the lust of battle. He clenched his fists in anticipation for the blow to her skull.

She picked up one of the wooden crates and threw it at him as his fists gained momentum towards her. As the ninja broke apart the crate like it was paper, Angel used the splinters of flying wood as a distraction. She rammed him with her whole body crashing back outside of the room. She was flipped forward as the ninja used both of his legs to prop her off him. Throwing her to the small wall of the middle room of the second row of the rooms. Her legs were up in the air as her head was uncomfortable sitting on the tiled floor. The ghostly ninja breathed undeterred as he walked closer to her forming his shadow all over her body for the kill.

* * *

For awhile, Snake and Ocelot have been playing shoot and run away. Ocelot twirled around the middle pillar firing at Snake, who rolled to his side dodging the scar piercing bullets. As he pushed his trigger, the hammer hit thin air making him shout in delight, "I love to reload during a battle!"

Snake hid behind the one of the corner pillars as Ocelot opened his gun barrel refilling it, "There's nothing like slamming a long, silver bullet into a well grease chamber." Naomi really wasn't kidding about this man being a gun fanatic. He was insane.

Ocelot turned around and ricocheted two bullets straight at Snake as he moved towards him. Snake stalled and ducked as the bullets zipped past his dark hair. He shot to his side to slow down Ocelot. He ran to front end Ocelot which made him slide to the other side avoiding Snake's rounds.

Ocelot cursed as Snake's bullets tapped the end of his trench coat as he ran to gain some distance. Snake knew he had Ocelot now.

Laughing his head off, Ocelot peered into Snake's view dancing his revolver. He didn't understand why the wanna-be cowboy will be so reckless. Ocelot gave out a huge grin as he pointed his revolver towards one of the C4s on the floor, "Let's warm this place up a bit, shall we?"

"Ocelot," Snake yelled as the insane man set off one of the plastics.

* * *

Angel rubbed her blonde head as she tried to regain her posture. The ninja popped his sword from the wall swiftly. Breathing in, the ninja twirled his sword back and grabbed her by the throat again. Angel struggled as he squeezed, "You are..." After those words, the ninja immediately dropped her. She landed on her knees.

Trying to breathe in oxygen that she had lost, Angel looked up and stared at the ninja in recognition, "What are you doing here? I thought you would have got help. Do you... remember me?"

Through the visors of ninja's helmet, she was trying to see the eyes of the man but the visors were too dark in red. Standing up, she slowly took a step forward and put her hands towards the man. The ninja seemed distrusting and stepped back.

Knowing that the ninja couldn't remember her, Angel decided to not provoke him in any way. Before she knew it though, the ninja walked closer to her. At first, she thought he remembered until he pulled his sword out.

"Where is my friend," the ninja raised his sword at her head. Angel used her left elbow to knock off the silver sword out of his grip. She spin kicked him in the face and did a two hand forward punch to his chest knocking him to his feet. He was knocked out.

She turned around to leave when she felt a strong force of wind push her down. Her whole body went crashing down on the hard floor in astonishment as the ninja stood above her. She cursed herself for letting her guard down.

As the ninja stared at her, his shadow disappeared. She got on her feet to follow the fleeting ninja. She grabbed her gun that was lying against a corner of the room with a three on its door. The ninja was leading her to the hole that was made by the intruder.

"He's heading where Baker is!" Angel watched as the ninja turned on his stealth camo as he flipped inside. As she entered the hole in the wall, a smell of smoke tickled her nose. Her eyes flashed in alert and shock, "There's a fire burning!"

Following the path of the smoke, she regretted forever leaving Baker there. She was afraid as her body tensed in fury of the smoke that occupied the air.

* * *

Flames tickled around the small, squared room. Pillars were turning black as the metal burned red. Baker was hacking and coughing as he waved smoke away from him. Snake was using his left arm to cover the suffocating stench of the smoke caused from the flames. If it weren't for the hole he made in the wall to the left of him, oxygen might have been scarce. Ocelot was coughing also but he tried to hide his discomfort with a sly grin.

They both had their guns trained at each other ready for the first move. Ocelot smirked as he caressed his trigger with his edgy, long, pointy index finger ready to squeeze.

"Time to die," Ocelot winked.

Suddenly, a gunshot knocked Ocelot's revolver from his hand, "What the…?" A powerful force pushed him to the ground. Ocelot made a grunt of anguish as he hit the wall.

Snake tried to find where that bullet came from but he had no time as a shadow of clear air blew towards him.

A figure blinked into his vision wearing an unusual outfit of tanned sides and a metal blue color torso that reached down to his legs. The mysterious figure had a red light in between its visor. He noticed a sword facing backwards handled in the stranger's right hand.

"Stealth camouflage! Can't you even dead, right," Ocelot sneered as he ran to pick up his favorite weapon which laid against a pillar. He turned towards Snake with anger and a wail of defeat, "You were lucky! We'll meet again."

Ocelot exited out of the hole made from Snake's C4. He scurried fast with his tail between his legs.

Snake had his weapon trained on the figure that had miraculously appeared, "Who are you?"

"I'm like you," he pointed his fist with the sword in its grip at Snake and twirled it back behind him, "I have no name."

Baker moaned in his corner coughing at he looked up and struggled to speak, "That exoskeleton!" The ninja stared at the man blankly before turning back to Snake.

As Snake aimed his SOCOM at the ninja still unaware of the stranger's intentions, the ninja screamed in pain. His head was bobbing from every direction. His body was generating volts of electricity. The ninja was going nuts as he flipped around the room cutting the pillars in murderous insanity. One of the pillars collapsed on the floor. The roof was still steady as the rocks of steel rolled on the cracked floor. Baker was coughing as smoke from the residue of the crumbled pillar flew his way. He waved his left hand to spread the smoke away. The ninja disappeared in a flash of electricity as he exited through the blast hole.

"Who the hell," Snake yelled as he placed his pistol back in his gun holder staring at the invisible wind where the crazy ninja used to be.


	15. Heart Attack

**Author's Notes: **Sorry, it took me so long to get this chapter up. School's a killer.

Heart Attack

There was no danger of the flames exploding the remaining C4s that were lying on the ground. Flames were scattered against different areas of the room in huge gaps inbetween. Some were flickering into nothing as smoke residue flew in the air. Snake ambled up to the broken, old man who was coughing up smoke from his lungs. Examining the old man, he could tell by his attire that this man was business. His dress pants and shoes up to his brown little coat covering the brown vest, which sheltered his white t-shirt with a red tie. His dull, gray hair seemed to degrade to the back of his head to the sides.

"You are president of ArmsTech, Kenneth Baker right?"

Baker looked up at him with reprieve, "Yes, in the flesh…or what's left."

"The Darpa chief said they got his detonation code. What about yours?"

"Oh! Jim sent you," Baker shouted like he knew who he was, "You're from the Pentagon!"

"Answer my question," he wanted no more suspense. He had a job to do and this old man needed to answer his question, "There's no time!"

Baker moved a fist to his mouth as a harsh cough escaped his lips that turned into a frown as it ended, "I…I talked."

"What! Now the terrorists have both codes and can launch anytime."

"It's not like I didn't fight," Baker narrowed his eyes as he saw the blame from Snake's icy glow, "I managed to fight Psycho Mantis's mind probe."

Snake couldn't believe this frail, old man can outmatch one of Foxhound's supposed psychic, "He couldn't read you? How you do it?"

Baker picked up his brown cane by the curved top. He poked the end of the cane over his head, "Surgical implants in my brain."

"Surgical implants?"

"Everyone who knows these top secret codes has them even the Darpa Chief."

"The Darpa Chief got torture for his password."

"Yeah, the surgical implants really helped us out there," Baker made a sarcastic laugh but the laugh turned more into a hacking cough of phelgm as he struggled to breath.

"What happened to your arm," Snake's eyes roamed to Baker's right arm which was hidden jagged under his light, tan coat.

"He broke it. That…bastard loved every minute of it," Baker's dull brown eyes closed in agony as he took a glance at his dislocated arm.

"So… the Darpa chief… he's okay right?"

"Dead," Snake bluntly recalled the sights of the chief's body struggling as the bullets splattered his blood all over the walls and ceiling of the basement one hallway.

_"Get back in the c_ell!"

_"I...I can't...I have to get out of this nightmare...Please stop!...NOOOO!"_

"What! That can't be!"

Baker pounded the side of Snake's leg with his cane in loss and maybe regret, "No! That's not what you promised Jim! Now you want to shut me up."

Snake grumbled as he bent down to the old man's eye level grabbing his cane roughly, "Calm down! What's wrong with you? I just told you I'm here to save you."

"We'll see," Baker struggled to get his cane away from the strong grip of gruff soldier.

"What do you mean?"

"Your uniform…it reminds me of a woman that was here a moment before."

"What woman?" Snake stood up and walked away from the man with his back turned.

"Some blonde headed woman," Baker dropped his cane as he calmly spoke, "She told me she was an investigator of some sort."

"Investigator?"

"She said she was sent here to spy on Foxhound."

"For who?"

Baker shook his head, "She didn't tell me. She is a strange one… but she's easy on the eyes when it comes to business."

"Anyway, the terrorists have both codes now."

"Those boys are totally insane. They wouldn't hesitate to launch..."

"I agree. But what do they really want?"

"Who knows," Baker shrugged his shoulders, "Maybe they're like us in the arms industry...Always looking forward to the next good war..."

"Well I'm not going to let these maniacs start a war today," Snake turned and met his eyes back at the old man who seemed to get involve with the grizzly business of war.

Baker put his left hand over his belly as he tried to sit up straighter, "It's probably too late anyway. Since they have the card keys…"

"What! The terrorists have the card keys," he couldn't believe this. Snake cursed at the whole situation that was turning worse by each minute he moved forward. Something didn't seem right though. Would they have launch already?

"But if they're all ready, then they should be able to launch. Why the delay?"

"Ask the investigator. She spent more time with those maniacs than anyone. Especially with the leader," Baker hanged his head as his hand patted his chest, "you will think that there was something going on between the two."

"How do I find this woman," from what he learned, she seemed to have a lot of information he needed.

"She finds you," Baker laughed at the scowled Snake gave him for his unsatisfactory answer, "That woman is good in hiding and disappearing. No one pays any attention to her anyway but..."

"Enough," Snake put his hand up to silence another one of Baker's comments about the woman.

"Don't worry," Baker's breath flew into the air indifferent to the situation, "That oddball of an engineer will be able to help you."

"Engineer?"

"Doctor Hal Emmerich, Metal Gear Rex's main engineer," Baker's voice seemed eager as the words leaped out of his mouth, "If he can't come up with anything, you will have to destroy Metal Gear."

"Where is this Emmerich?"

"That woman should know."

"The investigator?"

"No…the female soldier…she," the old man seemed lost as his wrinkled face went blank. Putting his index finger to his lips, his tongue tapped the roof of his mouth in memory, "The red head. She was thrown in prison along with me. She was thrown in because she refused to take part in the rebellion."

"_Could that be the Colonel's niece?"_

"I was in contact with her," Baker tapped his neck, "by the codec she stole from the guard. I hope she's ok."

"She's green but as tough as they come," Snake bend down to the old man, "What's her frequency."

"140.15," Baker laughed, "For a moment there, I forgot."

"140.15. Got it."

Baker held his heart as his breathing seemed to stagger, "Please stop these mad men or my company's finished!"

"What?"

"Metal Gear was our last ace in the hole from bankruptcy. We lost a bid on the next fighter jet. Also, our military budget has been cut during this so called peace," Baker spat angrily.

"I remember hearing a lot of talks about mergers and takeovers."

"That's why we pushed to have Metal Gear developed as a black project."

"Black project?"

"Secret projects paid for by the Pentagon's black budget. You can avoid a lot of red tape and get a great leadtime on your weapons production.And no one can bother you... Not even those bleeding heart liberals on the military oversight committee."

"Bribes...," Snake put his back against the wall with his arms crossed realizing how dirty a businessman Baker was. These days businesses around the world who deal with weapons of war are not getting the best of treatment. He guessed bribes or dirty money was the only way for people like Baker to push their way back into the game of the weapons industry.

_"Heh, anyway to continue war to fill in their deep pockets. Greedy sons of..."_

"I prefer to think of it as good business...," Baker tried to justify his actions, "Anyway, Metal Gear was going to be formally adopted...after the results of this exercise were analyzed."

Snake was tired of hearing this, "I don't give a crap about you and your company."

"Yes," Baker waved his hand at Snake, "That's about what I'd expect from a grunt like you..."

"One more question. Who or what is that ninja thing," flashes of the lightning fast ninja filled his eyes as he remembered Baker murmuring something, "It looked like you knew something."

"That ninja? That's Foxhound's dark little secret."

"Dark little secret?"

"An expermential...genome..soldier," Baker gagged as his coughing seemed to get worse by the minute.

Snake remembered from his invited...briefing, if you can call it that, Colonel and Naomi mentioning something about the genome soldiers.

_"You see, these Next-Generation Special Forces have been strengthened through gene therapy." Campbell was reading something off a clipboard as Naomi kept on staring at Snake with eyes of interest like a scientist watching an animal from a cage.  
_

_"Strengthened?"_

_"You've heard of the Human Genome Project. They've been mapping the human genome and they're nearly finished. Following up on this research, the military has been working towards identifying those genes which are responsible for making effective soldiers."_

_"There are genes that do that?"_

_"Yes. And using gene therapy, they're able to transplant those genes into regular soldiers."_

_"Gene therapy?"_

_Campbell looked at Naomi who was still analyzing Snake's naked body. Naomi noticed that Campbell was done and wanted her to explain the complexities which Campbell was clueless of, "I'll explain this part. With gene therapy, we can remove those genes which we know may lead to sickness or disease,and at the same time, splice in genes with beneficial effects, such as resistance to cancer for example. __In other words, we can overcome all sorts of genetic diseases, and at the same time, add genetic characteristics as desired."_

_"O.K. And so, if you knew what genes were responsiblefor making the perfect soldier,you could implant them in the same way, right?" Snake eyed Naomi's stride as she continued to explain. Her skinny legs were covered in dark tinted pantyhose complete with the two-inch black heels._

_"Yes...we could.But..." Naomi had her hand over her mouth casually, " it all depends on being able to isolate and identify those "soldier genes". And, in order to do that,  
it's helpful if you can study the genomic information of one of the greatest soldiers ever."_

_"One of the greatest soldiers ever?" Snake's voice lowered as he knew who they were referred to._

_"The man they called the greatest warrior of the 20th century..." Naomi looked at Snake with an intense gaze._

_"You don't mean Big Boss!?"_

_That's right," Naomi walked across the medi bed grabbing a clipboard, "We've been working feverishly to identify the genes responsible for his incredible combat skill. So far, we've discovered about 60 of the so-called "soldier genes"._

_"So, his body was recovered after all."_

_"Yes, and his cells have remained frozen in a cryo-chamber."_

_"His genomic information is a priceless treasure to mankind."_

_"Priceless to the military perhaps."_

_"His body was burned severely," Naomi laid the clipboard against her thigh adjusting the collar of white lab coat, "but it was possible to restore his DNA profile  
from just a single strand of his hair."_

_"You people are amazing. And then, you're gonna transplant those genes into soldiers?_

_"Yes,we'll use a process that I discovered called gene targeting. The strongest soldiers don't become what they are by acquiring their skills through training or experience. We now know that hereditary factors are far more crucial for creating superior soldiers," Naomi gave Snake a direct look but suddenly turned away._

_"Snake, we can't give them his body," Campbell's voice was serious, "It's potentially more dangerous than all the nuclear warheads on that island put together."_

_"I hear the terrorists are calling themselves "The Sons of Big Boss"."_

_"The Sons of Big Boss?"_

"The Sons of Big Boss," Snake's mind rambled and shivered with the words.

"You should ask Naomi Hunter from Foxhound. She knows better than I."

"Naomi?"

The nearly bald man reached into his dress pant's back pocket and lifted up a white card, "Here take this! It's a level 2 security card. This is all I got. Now get out of here."

Shaking the man's shoulders, Snake tried to the lift the man up, "Can you walk?"

The man lightly shoved Snake's arm, "No, you go on without me. I'm worthless to everyone now. Even the Pentagon..."

"Pentagon," Snake changed his tone, "What do they have to do with this?"

"Wait," Baker looked at Snake with shock, "You don't know?"

"Know what?"

Suddenly, Baker's body was shivering in pain as his left arm clinched his heart, "What...what did you do to me!?"

Snake stepped back, "Huh? What is happening?"

"Uh...Oooh..No!..Ooh! Oh no, It can't be...," Baker's long, flabby fingers dug into his chest like he was trying to rip his heart out, "Those Pentagon bastards!"

Baker held out his hand at Snake in agony and angry, "You! You! You're just a..."

His whole arm fell limp as his body gave one push forward howling. The man's coughing and wheezing ceased in an instant. His body slided against the blue chipped paint of the wall. Snake checked the man's wrist and shook his head in confusion, "What the hell?"

"Naomi," Snake yelled in his codec still staring at the frozen, dead body of the President of ArmsTech, "What happened to Baker."

"I..I don't know..." Naomi's trembling voice was mixed with confusion and astound, "It looked like a heart attack but..."

"A heart attack," Colonel Campbell interpreted, "Uh..No!"

Snake saw Campbell's eyes staring blankly. The colonel didn't even look at him, "Colonel, is there something you're hiding from me?"

"No, but remember I'm just a middleman here," the colonel's ignorance was really starting to tick him off.

"Sorry," Naomi whispered in the codec trying to change the subject matter, "We can't verify anything without a proper examination of the body."

"Damn!"

"Snake, I want you and Meryl to work together."

"Can I trust her?"

"More than you can trust me," for a moment, Campbell and Snake stared at each other. A bunch of mistrust was in between their gaze. Snake didn't know who he can trust anymore.

"One more thing, Colonel. Did you know about the investigator that was sent here?"

"An investigator..." the colonel adjusted his beret on the monitor, "That's news to me." For once, Snake believed him.

"Who could she be working for?"

"Could she be working for the Pentagon?"

"Not that I know of, Snake," Campbell sighed, "I'll try to see if I can find anything."

"Naomi, who was that ninja?"

Her pause gave him room for another question, "A member of Foxhound?"

"No. The only members of Foxhound are Psycho Mantis, Sniper Wolf, Vulcan Raven, Decoy Octopus, Revolver Ocelot," Naomi threw a glance in space like she forgot someone, "and their leader, Liquid Snake."

"Is that so?"

Naomi gave Snake a stern look and mumbled something, "What's that, Naomi?"

"Nothing! Just nothing," her britsh accent gave an air of hidden contempt.

Snake was about to disconnect when Mei Ling popped up, "Snake, you can't communicate with Meryl in that area. Something is jamming the signal. It doesn't interfere with burst transmission like we use but regular communication is going to be unaudible. Try moving away from the area." Her accent and wide, round dark eyes stared at Snake with worry and a sense of charity.

He disconnected and headed out of the burnt room through the way he came in. Getting his transciever ready for contact, he pushed the arrows steaming through different numbers of frequencies until he hit the right one. He hoped that the mission will get better as question swirled in his head. Clearing his mind as he stepped forward outside the jamming signal, he took a breath of calmness. A ring filled his ears as he hoped that the signal will be received.


	16. A Dream Becomes Reality

A Dream Becomes Reality

The T.V monitors were over top one another in seven columns squeezed together against the wall with cords twisting and turning from surge plugs. The table in front of her was the shape of a Lima bean. The room was pitch black except for the lights illumining from the monitors. They gave a glow to her bored, hazelnut eyes. The rocky, long, dark hallway on her right, which led to the Nuclear Warhead Storage Building, blew a eerie, shiverish wind. It was a lonely position as her eyes wandered from screen to screen checking on her ally and enemies patrolling from their assigned destinations.

"This is so boring," Meryl put her elbow on the silver table with a sigh of worthlessness as her squeaky, flexible chair rolled closer. Her hand limply held her chin, "I want to go out there to live some action. How am I going to help Angel if I'm watching computers? I'm no techie."

As a matter of fact, Angel hasn't show up on any of the screens or the mysterious agent who had a similar face about him. Angel didn't even contact her in awhile.

"I hope she's alright," Meryl stared out into nothingness contemplating her standing. Her forehead was sweating inside the black, wool balaclava. Most of her sweat was cold from the residue of the sweating she did earlier on. That was when she first held up her gun and used it. Remembering all the blood and all the shouting, she still hit herself for not reacting as fast as her training said she was.

"I still can't believe I froze," Meryl banged her both of her fists into the table making the table and monitors jiggled slightly, "I had excellent training! I couldn't have…"

Taking a deep breath, she calmed her nerves. Unfolding her pale fists, Meryl rubbed her red hair in a motion of tranquility, "So much for being a soldier…I wonder how father did it or better yet…how he did it?"

The "he" she was referring to was the hero she looked up to during part of her teen years. The man who made the impossible possible and drew her to Foxhound in the first place. Her uncle, Roy Campbell, was also a part of it but not anymore. He retired five years ago but he always kept an eye out for what was going on. Her uncle still had contacts.

"I bet he wasn't sitting here drowning in eye straining monitors," Meryl roamed the palm of her hand against her eyes.

Something flashed in her head. The handsome man with the strange blue outfit kept popping up in her mind like her brain was trying to tell her something.

"Could it be...?" Meryl seemed hopeful. She dreamed about them being in a mission together making a great team… until reality sat in, "Nope, it's a one in a million chance. Besides he's retired…he's probably enjoying some beach or something."

She crossed her arms and laughed at herself for thinking such childish fantasies.

"Look at me..." she stared at her disguise with disdain, "he will laugh! He's a hero. I'm just…green!"

She hated the word green or kid. The words made her look weak and inferior. She wasn't weak but deep down inside she was lacking self-assurance. Everyone always underestimated her by gender or statue which made her question herself several times. Laying her back against the chair with a cushion to support, she sighed.

She found herself looking back and remembered what her uncle told her. She was at a shooting range with him practicing her favorite weapon, the Desert Eagle.

"_Uncle, what's he like," she was wearing huge, orange earphones with clear goggles covering her eyes. Her camouflage pants and green, short sleeve shirt matched her skinny body. The Desert Eagle, which she was holding straight out, was lined up at a target with a shape of a man. The distance was 8-10 feet at best. Firing her weapon, her uncle was standing right behind her holding his earphones._

"_Say that again?"_

"_What's Solid Snake like?" Meryl cursed at a miss. She rapidly charged bullets into the target's head. The clip's hammer clicked as she reloaded a new clip that was laying on the stand in front of her. As she pulled back the chamber with ease, she fired again with fierce force. _

"_Meryl! Stopping firing!"_

"_Oops, sorry uncle," Meryl placed her gun down and turned around to face her uncle. Her uncle was wearing his usual decorative, military uniform with the green beret. She loved her uncle. He was very protective of her like he was her own father._

"_Thanks, sweetheart. Now come again?"_

"_What's he like?"_

"_Oh! He's a real bastard," her uncle grinned mischievously, "but a good man all the same."_

"_Where is he now?"_

"_Sorry, hon" her uncle shook his head, "that's classified. Besides he will kill me if I sent a worshipping rookie to his door step."_

"_Hey, I'm no rookie."_

"_To him, you will be!" Her uncle laughed at Meryl's frustrated expression as she angrily slided her gun against the wall of the stand._

_"People always call me inferior."_

_"Then, prove them wrong sweetheart."_

Her uncle was almost like a father to her. He even encourage her to take all those military schools and boot camps.

Some commotion on the Tank Hangar section was happening. She saw through the screen guards on the ground. There were no blood stains so the guards were probably knocked out. A few of the cameras blacked out but in a few seconds they came back on.

"_What the hell is going on?"_

A ringing filled her ears distracting her attention on the weird black outs of the cameras. She looked all around the room dumbfounded forgetting her codec sitting inside her belt. Hitting her forehead in stupidity, she picked up the transceiver from her hidden belt looking at the frequency.

"Wait a minute," the frequency was not Angel's. The frequency was 140.98. Pushing the button to receive, a man with dark, short hair wearing a bandana appeared. _"It's him! Now it's time to get some answers."_

"Who are you?"

"I was really impressed with the way you busted yourself out of there."

"The one from the prison?"

"You're the Colonel's niece, Meryl, right?"

Her eyes squinted at the man's face. She still couldn't believe this man's features. He looked exactly like Liquid even though she knew it wasn't, it still gave her a shock, "No…it's not him. Just exactly who are you?"

"I'm the fool your uncle sent in the middle of this whole mess."

"You came all by yourself. You think you're some kind of one-man army?"

"I don't need lectures. You're just like your uncle."

This man seemed to know her uncle. Who was this guy…, "How do you know my uncle?"

"We go way back."

"What's your name," she didn't how but for some odd reason, his cool, indifferent attitude gave her the answer.

"My name's not important."

"Aha," she made a low shout of discern, "Can you be Snake? Are you Solid Snake?"

"That's what some people call me," the man casually replied.

"The legendary Solid Snake? You," Meryl decided to take off the balaclava. Her short, red hair puffed out from the small mask, "Sorry about before. I wasn't sure if you were one of the good guys."

"I knew you were."

"How?"

"It's your eyes," Snake had a small smirk written across his face.

She was really confused, "My eyes?"

"They're not soldier's eyes."

"They're rookie's eyes, right?"

"No. They're beautiful, compassionate eyes."

She smiled at the man's attempt to flirt, "Just what I expect from the legendary Solid Snake. You're trying to sweep me off my feet?"

"Don't worry. You'll land back on them once you meet me. The reality is no match for the legend I'm afraid."

She chuckled, "I don't believe that."

The man's tone changed, "Why did you look so surprised when you saw my face?"

"Because you look just like him!"

"You mean the terrorist's leader, Liquid Snake?"

"Yeah," they almost look like they can be brothers, "You're not brothers, are you?"

"I have no family," the way Snake said it threw chills up her spine.

"_What does he mean by no family? He seems so lonely."_

"So what's the deal then," her face was in uncertainty. It couldn't be coincidental.

"Who knows. Why don't you ask him? But first, I want some information. You were involved in this exercise from the beginning. What exactly happened here?"

"I'm sorry," Meryl apologized with the lack of information, "I was captured along with President Baker right after the terrorist attack…but wait! I do know someone you can help you?"

"Who?"

"Her name is Angel. She is a rookie soldier just like me. Angel was thrown in the cell with me and told me some of what's going on. We didn't have much time but I'm sure she can fill in the rest for you."

"Where is she?"

"I don't know," her anxiety was clearly showing, "she hasn't contact me in twenty minutes."

"She has a codec? What's her frequency?"

"140.77."

"Ok. What is this place? I don't think it's just for disposing nuclear weapons."

Meryl sighed as she noticed that Snake didn't have a clue what was transpiring here, "Boy oh boy! That's just like them. Nobody told you anything, did they?"

She saw Snake give a face that a person will make when they felt left in the dark, "Okay, you see…this place isn't really for disposing nuclear warheads. This base is owned by a dummy corporation of ArmsTech."

"This is a civilian base!"

"Right. For the development of Metal Gear."

Snake's face gave a scorn, "Colonel!"

"Foxhound and the Next- Generation Special Forces were called here for the test launching of a dummy nuclear warhead."

"Why Foxhound?"

"Because they're a Special Ops group used to handling top secret missions. They figured they could help keep it all hush-hush."

"But we must have fired nuclear weapons before. Why just this time?"

"Angel told me they were working some new nuclear device and that this was going to be a final test before the formal adoption of the Metal Gear program."

"Hmm…Sounds kinda fishy…" the legendary soldier shifted his eyes, "So what do you think the terrorists want?"

"Sorry, I'm not sure... I was captured with President Baker right after the revolt."

"Oh yeah."

"He's okay, right" Meryl asked suddenly.

"Dead."

"Him too?"

"He died of a heart attack," even with the news, the soldier showed no emotion in his voice, "Was he sick or anything?"

"No…," he was perfectly healthy when he was in her cell, "not that I know of."

"Do you know the person who designed Metal Gear?"

"You mean Emmerich?"

"Yes. Is he still alive?"

"Probably. He's being held at the research lab in the 2nd floor basement of the Nuclear Warhead Storage Building"

"2nd floor basement?"

"Yeah, that's where his lab is. I think they are forcing him to work on the nuclear launching program."

"So, they need him alive until that finishes."

"You're right."

"Since the terrorists have both the passwords and card keys, we need him to help us on how to defeat that thing."

"You plan on taking that thing all by yourself," she couldn't believe how crazy this guy was. Her uncle forgot to tell her how insane this guy was.

"It won't be the first time."

Meryl chuckled at how cool and collected the man seemed. No fear was hinted in his eyes of blue stone. She guessed that's why he was named a legend.

"What's the best way to get to the building where the Doctor is being held?"

"There's a cargo door on the 1st floor of this building that leads to the north."

"What's the security level of the door there?"

"Five…" Meryl padded her pocket where the security card she was carrying settled, "its ok! I got a level five card."

"Well," the man seemed ready to go, "I got to go save the doctor. You should…"

"I'm going with you."

"No way. You're still too green. I want you to hide somewhere."

"I'm not green," she felt worthless as her emotion clearly showed the anger she felt.

"Oh yes you are," Snake and Meryl narrowing each of their eyes to each other, 'You pause right in front of the enemy and it's all over. Good luck doesn't last forever.

Flashbacks of the bloody bodies her bullets produced and her freezing stance swarmed inside her mind, "I didn't know what happened…I couldn't pull the trigger right away. I never had any problems in training... but when I thought about my bullets tearing through those soldiers' bodies, I hesitated..."

"Shooting targets and shooting living, breathing people are different."

"Ever since I was a little girl, I always dreamed about being a soldier..." her mind reminisced about how many times she declared that she would be as good as a soldier like everyone else, "Everyday of my life, I've trained my mind and body for the one day when I could finally see some real action, and now..."

"So what now? You wanna quit?"

Meryl knew it was too late to turn back now. It was too late when she denied helping Liquid's plot. It was too late when Angel told her what was going on. Also, when she killed those soldiers, it was too late to back away and be innocent of any wrongdoing. Anyway, this legendary soldier may not like it but he needs her to complete this mission. It was her duty to clear Foxhound's name and stop this rebellion!

"I can't quit. I can't allow myself to quit now."

"Listen, Meryl. Everybody feels sick the first time they kill someone. Unfortunately, killing is one of those things that gets easier the more you do it" Meryl was shocked to hear that. How can anyone enjoy this action? She thought she would but now she was disgusted.

"In a war, all of mankind's worst emotions...worst traits come out. It's easy to forget what a sin is in the middle of a battlefield."

"But this isn't a war. It's a terrorist action!"

"You're still a little jumpy from the combat high. The adrenaline in your blood stream is starting to thin out. Just take it easy."

"But I learned about combat high in the academy…" she really wished he didn't make her look dumb.

"We'll talk about it later," this guy really wants to get moving, "Just think about keeping yourself alive."

"If I get outta here, I'll think about that other stuff," after this mess, she really wanted to rethink her position in life.

"_Angel…you were right."_

"Ok, let me say this another way…Stay the hell out of my way!"

Her uncle was right about his demeanor but for some odd reason she chuckled, "You're a real bastard…just like my uncle said."

"I told you. The real me is no match for the legend."

"It looks like you were right," they both followed with a nice laugh in unison, "Okay, I'll be a good girl."

"We will link up after I grab the doctor."

"Got ya. But remember I know this area better than you. Call me if you have any questions."

"Be careful, okay."

"After I open the cargo bay door, I'll contact you."

With a nod of acknowledgement, her hero cut the transmission. She sighed and laid back on her chair squeaking. Well, she was glad at least one of her dreams came true and maybe it was better than she expected. Staring at the monitors in a daydream almost, she wondered when action will come around her corner as the quietness of the area gave way for her mind to wander.


	17. Trapped!

Trapped

For some odd reason, that rookie reminded him of himself when he was the kid in the military. Always on the move and too reckless to prove any worth but trouble. He changed the frequency to the Colonel's as he planned his next move.

"Colonel, your niece is fine."

"Thank you…" the Colonel's face brightened.

"Not so fast," Snake put a hold to his old friend's gratitude, "It's still not over yet."

"Yes, you're right," the Colonel's smile faded as he composed himself back into an air of command though his gratitude still showed in his tone, "You need to go back to the Tank Hangar and go towards the Canyon that leads to the Nuclear Warhead Storage Building."

The Colonel did a slight nod as he disappeared from the monitor. Snake ambled his way as he heard two voices casually talking. He skid his back against the granite wall of the room closest to him. Tilting his head to peek through the corner, he saw two guards wearing green uniforms and black balaclavas studying the area, which from his view has been severely damaged. Scratches of silver and bullet holes massacred one of the rooms in the Armory.

The guard that had his back towards him held a walkie-talkie close to his lips while the other guard was surveying the damages, "The Armory has been damaged severely."

A voice full of loud frustration caused the guard to pull the black mobile device away from his face, "Where are the intruders?"

"No sign of them, sir."

"What about the keys?"

"Still nothing came from the patrols' reports."

"Keep yourselves in the Armory. I'll have to think of something else."

"Don't worry," the guard pushed his boots together in attention, "we will follow your orders, sir."

The voice from the other line clicked off with a snort, "Just clean the area and watch the elevator."

"The boss seems very nerve racking," the other guard in the area study the bullet holes and sword slashes covering the walls of the room in front of the elevator. He scratched his head at his comrade.

"Just follow his orders," the soldier's voice had a harsh rumble to it compared to the other soldier who sounded younger.

Snake waited for the other guard to turn his back for his opportunity to get out of the area. He dashed silently to the other side as the guard looked at his direction dumbfounded.

"I thought I saw a shadow!"

"You're just being paranoid. Focus on your patrol."

"Okay."

Snake watched out for the guards' movements before he did a mad dash to the elevator.

Pushing the up arrow inside the elevator, the silverish blue double doors closed with a silent cling as he rode back up to the Tank Hangar. His codec beeped as the doors chimed and opened revealing the Hangar.

Answering the urgent sound of rapid beeps, Meryl's face appeared on the other side of his monitor. She was wearing her disguise still, "Snake, I unlocked the cargo bay door for you."

"Thanks, where are you?"

"Where I can see ya," she giggled lightly.

"Don't move around too much."

"Don't worry. I'm disguised in this enemy uniform."

"You won't be for long the way you walk," Snake's mind flashed back to when the rookie was running away from the holding cells hips curving and behind wriggling in a quick stride.

"What does that mean," her hazelnut eyes narrowed.

"N-Nothing," Snake knew from that tone he shouldn't push the issue unless he wanted another arguement which he didn't have time to waste for.

"Ok, we will meet at the Nuclear Warhead Storage Building," she made her tone sound final as he realized what the rookie was saying.

"Wait," Snake's face turned stern as she was disobeying what he told her to do, "you said you will stay behind and be a good girl!"

"I changed my mind."

"Don't get careless! That's where things turn sour."

"I'm sorry," her apology didn't feel so genuine as she made it sound, "but I got to see if I'm cut out to be a soldier, I got to get my hands dirty."

"These guys are professionals," he was warning the reckless, hardheaded redhead, "You're going to get yourselves killed."

"See you there," she gave no room for compromising as she switched off. Snake cursed under his breath. He had no time to babysit some fiery rookie. He needed to focus on the mission.

The Tank Hangar had a serene quietness. None of the guards who were earlier patroling were there. He looked up as he noticed the second floor of the Hangar was deserted just like the first floor. Near the staircase leading towards the second floor, the camera's red light was blinking as it hung limp. Sparks of electricity bursted from its wires. He also noticed that one of the tanks were missing.

Snake didn't like this. Something in his instincts told him something fishy was going on. The Colonel and his so-called support crew weren't going to feed him the information even if he pressure them to. There was no time for this. Still keeping alert, he headed towards the cargo bay door.

Again, his codec rung. Meryl was again on the other side, "Snake, I forgot to mention that there are infrared beams obscured to prevent intrusion. If you trip one, gas will be released."

"Gas?"

"Nerve Gas. Be careful."

Snake stepped at the steel separating the door from the Hangar. He slowly went straight and stopped as he could hear the hum of the invisible beams. You could mistake that for a normal generator, but if you see enough of lasers in the battlefield, you eventually notice the difference. They produce no heat since they were sensory not cutting.

He needed some kind of light before going forward. Padding his thermal vest, he remembered the cigarette he coughed up before entering Shadow Moses. He slided the nicotine filled cylinder from his belt. It was a bend tip cigarette that didn't need a lighter. All he had to do was bend the end of the paper filiter to spark a light. This newest design kept the ashes from falling on the ground which wouldn't leave traces of him for the enemy tp track. He smiled as he placed the smoking cigarette between his lips and took a short puff. He felt the calming sensation from the spark of nicotine as the smoke escaped his mouth. The crimson, infrared beams were shown through the gray, thin smoke. The small red lines were in a unison going up in down at different frames. Smoke dispersed in the cool air making the beams invisble again as Snake exhaled more to compensate.

His codec rung. Before he leaped, he answered to see Naomi on the other side with a look of disgust, "Are you smoking?"

"Yeah, so what? It's the only light I have that will help me see the infrared beams."

"Perhaps," Naomi's British accent echoed with a hint of sarcasm, "Didn't you know that cigarettes contain benzopyrene, a chemical that leads to lung cancer?"

"We now know that when benzopyrene enters the body, it changes to benzopyrene diolepoxide and attaches to the receptors on the P53 gene, the gene which causes lung cancer. The BPDE attaches to the P53 gene in three specific locations and causes pre-cancerous changes to the lung tissue," Naomi noticed Snake's hard, blue eyes roll.

"You know a lot of about science," Snake's tone was indifferent to what she stated, "but you don't know how a good a cigarette tastes in the morning."

Naomi shook her head at Snake's unhealthy choice but she could do nothing about it, "Fine. After you get past the lasers, I suggest you throw it out. If not for the sake of your body, but for the sake of the mission. Besides, that's really what you care about anyway."

He detected a hint of judgemental criticism, "What's that supposed to mean, Naomi?"

"Nothing."

The Colonel came up to the monitor and created a barrier between the two, "Snake, we have no time. Get past those lasers and head to the Nuclear Warhead Storage Buliding."

He blew a another puff of smoke to see where the beams were now before the distraction. The beam was heading downward. When it came up again, Snake ducked and crossed in a haste. One laser down. Three more to go. Adrenaline was pumping in his blood as he knew that one false move and it was game over. Well, that was the thrill of it. Undeterred, he quickened his pace.

The last laser was a little faster than the others. It took an ounce of luck to pass it as he ducked and skipped. His cigarette was losing its flame. He lightly squashed it with the his palm of his hand. Slipping the withered paper of tobacco back in his pockets, he walked towards the bay door in front of him. Waiting for it to open, he looked at the number printed on the side of the door. It did match the PAN card he has, but it made no movement. The control panel near it blinked red.

He contacted Meryl, "Meryl, the door is not opening!"

"What? I don't know. The computer here says it's working...but wait a minute..."a dim sound of a chime made her jump in his monitor.

"What is it," Snake noticed her eyes wandering behind her.

"Snake, I'll try to fix it. I have to go! See ya!"

"Wait! Meryl!"

She disconnected with eyes of anxiety. He tried to call her again but no answer. Growling, he was about to call the Colonel when a low hiss of air stopped him dead in his tracks. Stupefied, he looked behind to see the other side of the cargo bay door close in a swift motion causing a booming echo to shatter the walls. The lasers were shown as they turned off in blinking intervals. The hissing of air grew brassy. It became apparent to Snake to hold his breath as the air was getting thinner. His eyes darted from side to side noticing the vents slowly opening releasing the fatal gas. Outside ventilation was cut off.

"Nerve Gas," he held his breath and mumbled. He hoped that his sneaking suit was impenetrable because nerve gas can affect your body even if you don't breath it in.

His recorded time of holding his breath was about 2 minutes at best. His codec was ringing, but he couldn't afford talk without releasing oxygen. He needed to conserve it. The air became a light ,yellowish green as more gas seeped through the air. Even though his senses were alert, he knew that there was nothing he could do.

"Damn!"

Snake slowly clinched his throat as his eyes were becoming blurry, "If I don't think of something soon, I'm finished!"


	18. Angel to the Rescue

**Yes...it continues...! I thought of rewriting this story but so many people are enjoying it that I just couldn't. **

**So enjoy!**

* * *

Angel to the Rescue

"Snake, I'll try to fix it. I have to go! See ya!"

She heard his stern demand for her to come back but she couldn't answer. The elevator behind her was humming, and she didn't want to be caught talking since her voice will give her away. She can still hear the ringing sound of the codec from her ear piece. She switched it off as the elevator chimed and opened its doors with a small swoosh of stale air. Someone stepped out of the elevator slowly. She didn't turn around as she thought it was probably a normal soldier going to the Nuclear Warhead Storage Building.

"How's our intruder, comrade?"

Her heart suddenly skipped a beat. The voice carried a low yet hard British accent with a hint of allure. Her soul almost froze when the man stepped into the light of the monitors in front of her. Meryl looked at the corner of one of the monitors to keep an eye at the man as she made no attempt to make eye contact.

"_Liquid! Oh no!"_

There was no mistaken that rugged, blonde hair that lightly touched his shoulders of his tan, buttoned up trenchcoat. It was Liquid! His stance was stone as he crossed his arms scanning the monitors in front of her with a small frown.

Meryl didn't know what to do. Glancing twice at the cargo bay area, she noticed Snake standing with his hands on his hips in impatience. The door was not opening for him.

"_What's the problem? He has the right key for it. Why is it not working?"_

Liquid put his face near the monitor of the screen near the middle of the second row. It was the camera for the Canyon area. Since snow covered the corners of the camera's lens, it was hard to see through it. Meryl watched as Liquid's face turned into disgust as his face sneered at the monitor. Staring at the man's high cheek bones, she couldn't shake the feeling of dismay and revulsion of the man's proverbial look.

"So you think you can run away from me?"

Wondering who the man was talking to, Meryl followed the man's eyes in curiosity as to what he was so disgust about it. It was hard to tell from the wind blowing snowflakes on the lens of the camera what the man saw. It was like he was talking to a ghost.

The snow eventually stopped and thin lines of fog were covering the area. It was a miracle that some of the snow flakes were wiped away from the chilly wind that still blew. She leaned forward slowly as she saw something moving among the snowy ground. Her chair squeaked a little as she bent over to see a figure standing in the middle of the camera's lens. The figure had blonde hair with a uniform that matched the snow. Meryl's eyes were full of joy.

"_Angel! She's all right!"_

Her eyes of relief turned back to her normal expression as Liquid glanced at her savagely with an evil smile.

"Don't worry," his charming accent gave her a chill as the smooth tone gave an air of eerie gloom, "she will suffer the same fate as the rest of us. My ace in the hole will make sure of that!"

"_Suffer the same fate? What did he mean by that?"_

"Can you stand up, my comrade," Meryl stood up instantly as Liquid grabbed the edge of the chair. She turned away to step back with her back against the man. Tilting her head alittle, she glimpsed a look at Liquid who was doing the same. Instead of her head, he was looking at her behind.

"_Sick bastard!"_

"Ahhhh! My brother! How unfortunate for you to be caught in my trap," Meryl turned around to see Liquid looking at Snake through the monitor clapping his hands.

Liquid was typing something on the computer monitor, "Well, I guess we won't get see eye to eye! That's too bad."

The madman chuckled inwardly as he pushed one red button. Alarms were wailing inside the room as a female, monotone computer voice rang her ears, "Nerve Gas initiated. Please evaluate from the cargo bay area. I repeat. Nerve Gas initiated. Please evaluate from the cargo bay area. "

As Liquid stepped back for the chair in triumph, he rubbed his hands in victory as he walked towards the elevator. Meryl ran towards the camera monitor. Her hands stretched out on the table staring at the green gas seeping into his room.

"_No! Snake!"_

She didn't notice Liquid was still in the room. He had his back towards her as he made no attempt to exit, "Hmm. Something has caught my attention."

She stared at the black shadow in front of her, "How could have Snake got into the cargo bay area."

Meryl suddenly flinched as Liquid turned and pulled a gun towards her face. The gun was a Desert Eagle with a silver lining. How ironic to be staring at the end of a gun that was her favorite since she was eight! Her eyes widened as Liquid steadily scanned her body with his dark, blue eyes.

What really scared her the most was his face. She couldn't believe the similarities her hero, Solid Snake and this insane madman, had been striking. Crossing her eyes at the barrel pointed at her, Liquid made a gape of hate, "Only this area could have opened the door for him and since you're the only one here….daddy's little girl!"

Liquid laughed and his eyes were distracted by something in his mind. Meryl took this opening. She slapped the gun from his hands and grabbed the end of his collar. Dragging him, she pushed him into the monitors. Glass showered the floor as Liquid's head smashed through one of them.

She smiled and decided to take the Desert Eagle as a prize. Hiding it underneath her uniform, she grabbed her FAMAS. Running through the underground corridor leading towards the Nuclear Warhead Storage Building, she realized that Snake was still in danger. Turning back was no option.

Stopping half-way in her dash, she shifted her rifle upward as she pushed the frequency upside down, "Angel! Can you hear me? Angel!"

Meryl could hear the sound of wind blowing in her earpiece. She turned around to see no one has followed her. Taking a few steps backwards, Meryl dropped her rifle on the ground slowly as she picked up the monitor. Angel appeared on her monitor. Her hair was covered in snow flakes as her cheeks were red, "What's the matter?"

"Snake is trapped!"

"Where," Angel seemed concerned as she was pressing Meryl to continue, "How?"

"Nerve gas is being released in the cargo bay area. He's stuck there."

"Tell me what happened. I thought…"

"Liquid came in the room and ruined everything. Angel, you are closer to him. Please! You have to save him."

Angel nodded her head. Meryl could hear the crunching of snow from Angel's tapioca boots.

"Ok," her cold breath melted on the monitor of her codec, "How long has he been in there?"

Meryl struggled to remember, "About 30 seconds or more."

A grunt fill the other side as Angel was heaving and counting numbers, "Angel?"

"I'm trying to override the control panel," her voice was unruffled as she kept counting numbers.

"Why are you counting?"

"I'm counting the seconds. We, humans, can only hold our breath about 2 or maximum of 5 minutes, if you're lucky."

Meryl, staggering in fear, walked forward in the corridor until she reached a silver door labeled "N.W.S.B". Meryl heard a hissing sound, "Did you get him?"

"Yep, I got him."

Meryl noticed a hole in the wall behind her. It was big enough to fit herself in as she crawled in for cover just in case someone tried to sneak behind her. From her monitor, the snow and ground covered most of Angel's screen. Meryl concluded that she accidentally dropped it. The monitor was facing a boulder a couple meters away. She saw Angel carrying Snake towards the boulder and lain his back against it carefully.

"Angel, you dropped your monitor!"

"Oh," in a few seconds, the monitor started moving again. Angel's white gloved fingertips roamed on the screen clearing the snowflakes. It made streams of wet precipitation on her screen. Angel faced the monitor and smiled at Meryl before turning it forward.

As snow crushed under Angel's boots, her monitor zoomed in on Snake who was still unconscious.

"Is he…"

"No, he just black out from holding his breath," her tone was soft as Meryl let out a sigh. She was glad her mistake didn't turn final for her hero.

"He's handsome," Angel crouched as Meryl let out a laugh.

"Ooooo! Is Angel falling in love?"

Meryl's teasing giggles echoed as Angel snickered in her piece, "No, I had enough of cynical soldiers."

"Though he reminds me of someone...someone once important in my...," Angel seemed to be in another world.

"Angel," Meryl couldn't see her face but she sensed pain in the woman's voice, "are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

She noticed Angel's hands outstretched towards Snake's pockets. She placed something small and rectangular in one of them, "Angel, what are you doing?"

"Nothing," Angel's voice lost the pain that was in her voice moments ago. It vanished back to her strong, solemn voice, "Just stuff he needs."

She heard a sniff from Angel's end but Meryl ignored it.

"Hey," Snake's body vanished from her monitor. Angel turned her back and stepped a couple of steps away from Snake, "Meryl, you better head for the lab. I'll head there as soon as I deal with a couple of things."

"Okay, Angel."

With a click, Angel disappeared from her view. Meryl forgot to ask her why she never contacted her earlier but she decided to trust Angel.

Crawling out of the hole, Meryl grabbed her FAMAS which was on the rocky floor. Composing herself, she stared at the silver door behind her. It wasn't like the other doors above surface level. It was an old, rusty door with a handle to push down. As she pushed down on the handle, a steel stairway barricaded by cave-like walls came in her view.

Taking light steps, she can hear a bark of orders coming from above. Leisurely, she listened to the orders on someone's radio, "An intruder has invaded our building. Personal, be extra careful and recheck every soldier who enters the area. An intruder is dress in our clothes. Recheck everybody that enters the premise."

A double door met her gaze as she continued her ascension to the second building. The silver doors opened as she placed her foot forward. Her eyes were filled with tube-like images of missiles hanging from the ceiling, walls and floors.

"Oh my God," her eyes were gazing in immediate disbelief as the whole room was covered by missiles. These weren't regular missiles, though. No, they were nuclear missiles.

Butterflies entered her stomach as she went deeper into the hall of the weapons of mass destruction.

* * *

**Snake has a guardian angel now, doesn't he? I wonder how he will react towards Angel. Stay Tuned!=)**


	19. Dream

**All I have to say is ...what a weird mind I have...**

* * *

Dream

_Everything seemed bright to him. As the shadows seemed to consume his soul, a light shone in front of him._

"_This is your soul. This is your mind. Shadows of desire…"_

_He couldn't see who was speaking but the voice seemed feminine, "Who are you?"_

"_I am the light as he is the shadow."_

"_What? What are you talking about?"_

"_I am the light…I am the light...I'm a part of you."_

_The voice seemed so far away as the flicker of light disappeared. A new light sparkled towards him forcing flashes of random events that happened not that long ago._

"_You should have told me, Colonel!"_

"_I'm sorry…I was forced to secrecy."_

"_Snake, we have situation."_

"_What's the matter? You don't like shots?"_

"_And the commander of the unit, Liquid Snake. The man with the same codename as you."_

"_I have a twin."_

"_I don't know the details."_

"_I have a twin." _

_The same phrases kept on repeating over and over again. They became so loud and swiftly that the words turned into gabble._

_"Brother!"_

His eyes began to open as he saw some blond woman messing with his belt and suit. If he wasn't so dizzy and nauseous, he would have tried to push her off. From what he could tell, the woman was wearing a white uniform all over her. Her face was still fuzzy to his eyes. Dizzyingly, he winced from the light that burned his emerald eyes.

She must have noticed his eyes staring at her as her blue, blurry eyes widen but a warm smile filled her expression. Putting her hand over his eyes, she whispered, "I'm your guardian angel…Snake!"

He jerked up and frantically looked around as his eyes glistered. There was no sign of anyone or footprints to suggest anyone was near him.

"_Could it have been a dream?"_

He glanced over his suit and noticed the belt was a little bit heavier than he remembered.

"_No. It felt too real to be a dream."_

Snake decided to contact the Colonel to report. He really didn't know how long he was out.

"Snake! Oh thank God, you're all right," the Colonel smiled in relief. Snake can also tell from the monitor that the colonel had been sweating. Was he afraid to lose his friend or his pawn?

"Snake, what happened," Mei Ling's face of concern yet comfort illuminated the codec.

"Someone saved my life. A woman."

"That's impossible."

"Why's that?"

"No one has shown up on the Solition Radar during your radio silence."

Mei Ling's statement made him irritated…not at her…but at the strange occurrence, "What? I saw that person myself."

"Naomi has been looking at your nanomachines and they are functioning properly," the Colonel added to make sure the nerve gas that Snake was put through didn't effect in his mind, "Though she has seen a rise of activity in your brain."

_"I'm not crazy!"_

"Anyway, you better get moving. The Nuclear Warhead Storage Building is right ahead of you. Head over to find Dr. Emmerich."

Getting back on task, Snake nodded as he cut the transmission. He looked over the boulder, which laid in front of him, to see a thin fog casing the other side of the Canyon.

Snake walked sideways to past the boulder when he heard a glass cracking under his right foot. Curious, he lifted the ankle part of his boot and slowly placed it back. Stooping over, his fingers dug into the snow to pick up an unusual object.

Carrying the object up to his eyes, he leveled his body back upright. The item was covered with snow. He wiped the snow from the cracked lens as he could see glasses appearing from the plummeting snow.

"Glasses," he scanned the black-rimmed lens and black legs of the glasses. Snake noticed that the legs and lens seemed to have been compressed severely downward like someone squashed it with their own hand. He didn't know why but he decided to place the damaged glasses in his pocket.

Static in his ear formed as a ringing sensation vibrated his eardrum. The codec was ringing. Snake looked at the frequency but it wasn't familiar.

"Snake, be careful. There are claymore mines around there," the voice was deep and metallic, "Use the mine detector on you."

"Who are you?"

"Just call me Deepthroat."

"Deepthroat," he heard that name before, "the informant from the Watergate Scandal?"

"Never mind about that," the mysterious Deepthroat dismissed the comment.

Snake couldn't see the man from his monitor. He only saw static which means the person wasn't using burst transmission. He had to be close by, "You're not using burst transmission. Are you nearby?"

"Listen. There's a tank in front of your position waiting to ambush you."

"Who are you anyway," Snake demanded.

"One of your fans."

Deepthroat cut the transmission swiftly.

"Colonel, I got a Codec call from someone outside this operation!" Snake wanted an answer.

"I know," the Colonel looked as lost as he did, "We were monitoring the call. Mei Ling knows everything about the communications system, so let me have her explain it to you."

The endearing Mei Ling burst into his codec, "Well, if somebody knows your frequency, they can call you. But the question is how did he learn it...it's top secret information..."

"So you mean someone leaked the information?"

"That's the only explanation I can think of..."

"Mei Ling, do you know where that transmission originated from?"

"I'm sorry. The radio waves were too weak to locate their source. But I'm sure he's near you...somewhere on the base."

The Colonel switched back into his monitor, "Snake, you'll have to go through the mine field to advance."

"Understood."

For some odd reason, he kept on hearing Deepthroat's phrase repeating over and over in his head like his mind was trying to convey some maze or puzzle.

"_One of your fans? I heard that expression before."_

Flashes of Zanzibar Land forced their way in his mind as he remembered his best friend, Gray Fox. He used that phrase, "But it can't be him! He died in Zanzibar."

"_It's been a while, Snake…Here we are, back in the minefield. What say we go at it hand to hand."_

"_Fox! I'll knock some sense into you."_

Deciding to push back his thoughts, he stared at the snowy path in front of him. The area was large enough for claymore mines to be set. He had to find a mine detector. He reached for his codec to contact Meryl when his hand stopped cold.

"_Use the mine detector on you."_

"_This should help you cross the field."_

Snake reached into his right pouch to feel some smooth texture filling its space. He pulled out the black rectangular object, "A mine detector."

Flipping the switch, the detector vibrated. Since the mine detector was the updated version. He plugged the detector into his radar so he could see the mines than spend time locating them with beacon intervals.

He went straight forward into the thin fog that seemed to move outlines over his body like shadows stalking the wind. As he went forward, the ground under his feet shook in fury. A wind of green forced itself in his sights.

The fog was disappearing like a curtain being lifted off the stage as a green monster rumbled towards him in the distance. Snake watched as the tank's treads did an immediate stop near the hill that separate the middle of the Canyon.

"This is Raven's territory," a profound voice boomed in the breeze. Snake couldn't see the man but he could see someone standing on top of the tank.

"Snakes don't belong in Alaska. I will not let you pass…send him a message!"

His reflexes were fast as he jumped back dodging the fireball of a tank shell. The explosion blew him farther away as some of the mines hidden under the snow exploded.

A thunderous laughter of amusement echoed mockingly, "That's right! You belong on the ground.

Snake's knees were dug deep in snow, "You should crawl on the ground like the snake you are."

_"How am I going to get through?"_

"Come! Let's fight!"

"Agrrrrh!"

Snake dodged another pulverizing shell from that M1 Abrams tank. He rolled behind the boulder that was convenient for him as another shell hit the ground forcing snow to batter his face like shrapnel. Shaking the snow off his face, he put his SOCOM pistol away.

His codec beeped in fast intervals. As he looked at the monitor, he was greeted by a short, blonde hair woman with cold, coffee eyes. A cigarette limply was hanging on the edge of her thin lips, "Snake! Use the chaff grenade that you have." Her accent was a strong accent of Russian descent.

"Wait, who are you?"

"I'm sorry it took so long to get myself set up. Someone forgot about me but lets save pleasantries to after you're out of harm's way," the woman shifted her cigarette to the left side, "Now, the chaff grenade should disrupt the sensory controls from the tank's main guns. Use it!"

Snake took out the chaff grenade stashed on his belt. The grenade was a blackish, gray as he pulled the pin and threw it over his head praying this plan will work.

A small, smooth puff of smoke manipulated the flow of the air. Tinkles of flurry flew around the gusty air matching the color of snowflakes. Snake peeked around the boulder's edge and saw the tank main gun make no third attempt to grind him. In a fury of snow, Snake scampered towards the tank like an animal.

His heart pumped blood and pounded in an accelerated rate. His adrenaline rush fueled his speed as he saw the top of the tank's hatch open up. A man with a white balaclava and uniform with a Foxhound insignia on each of the heavy coat's shoulders grabbed the turret in front of his person and started firing at Snake's feet to slow him down. Snake dodged left ran around the tank with the turret's rapid fire behind him. Grabbing the back of his pocket, he pulled out a grenade.

"_I don't remember picking up grenades."_

He wasn't going to go into detail. He pulled the pin and quickly tossed the grenade into the legs of the soldier firing at him. An explosion surprised the guard as he flew out of the tank in flames a few feet away. Flames burned more when the guard accidentally tripped one of the mines buried deep underground. His body went flying in the air causing more havoc on the already dead guard.

Walking slowly few feet away from the front of the tank, Snake's face showed no victory as he saw movement behind the turret. Another guard popped up from the tank's hatch and yelled in lust for battle, "Let's see how you like this!"

Snake cursed and started running in circles around the tank. As he hit the back of the tank, he noticed the tank backing towards him. Rolling on his left side, the tank nearly missed his right ankle. With the tank moving, he gave himself distance from the tank and ran straight.

"There's no escape," a husky voice called out inside the tank, "surrender now or die a crushing defeat." The man inside the tank laughed at the dark irony in that statement.

"I wish I had another," Snake grabbed the backside of his belt as he raised his hand back to his front a grenade shined. He smiled and gripped the grenade tightly as the tank rolled towards him.

The main gun was right where he wanted it. Unpinning the grenade and taking a breath of danger, Snake threw the grenade straight down the pipe of the tank's main gun. Snake smirked as the guard holding the turret jumped but not until the tank's puke green turned into scorched black. Smoke and flames blew the guard right off the turret gun backward towards the opening bay doors of the Nuclear Warhead Storage Building. The guard was rolling on the ground trying desperately to put the flames out but his burns were too severe. Succumbing to his wounds, Snake walked towards the burnt corpse searching for items. Out of the guard's back pocket, he pulled out a PAN Card. It was level 3.

As he headed towards the Nuclear Warhead Storage Building entrance, he spotted a black bird standing in his way staring at him with big, pulsing eyes that would drive men mad. Snake was about to shoo it away when another bird swooped down except this bird was white. This one seemed to have a more gentle nature. The white bird and the black one had a match of fierce calling. The black bird, eventually, flew away in defeat. The white bird flew towards Snake gallantly staring at his eyes floating in mid-flight. The bird's eyes were soft and joyous, but sorrow was also present. The bird flapped its gentle wings as it flew into the clouds above letting down a soft wind of white feathers circling around him. A feather swung inside the cold breeze landing on Snake's hand as he reached for it.

He let the feather fall lightly to the cold ground as the bay doors open. He had a mission to complete. Somewhere...somehow though...a feeling gripped his stomach...a sense of being stalked.

* * *

**Birds? What's the deal with the birds? Those two birds will make random appearances in this story. I'll let you guys figure out what they represent. If you do figure it out, get a cookie to treat yourself.**

**Also, why can't Angel show up in Snake's Radar? Stay tuned!**


	20. Liquid's Bodyguard

**Three or four more chapters until...the big confrontation...oh! I feel all giddy inside...I can't wait to write the scene but I have to...**

* * *

Liquid's Bodyguard

Everything was quiet. Too quiet. All the guards were doing regular patrol and calls. No alarm or intruder alerts. She could have sworn Liquid would have raised some kind of racket after she nearly decapitated him with her FAMAS. The whole incident played out in her head again. Cockiness filled her head of how brilliantly executed that move was and in return for her moment of excellent timing, she got his Desert Eagle.

Meryl looked below at her belt wrapped around her green, long pants. The Desert Eagle's shimmering, silver lining gave a tinkled to her eye of her rigor training back when she was younger. She sighed as old memories flashed into her head of her little self shooting wooden targets shouting with joy.

She ascended up the stairs in front of her staring at the large missiles with long, pointy heads as she took steps closer. Meryl took her eyes off them swiftly. Staring at those missiles made her anxious and dreadful of the government's capacity for making such weapons of destructive force much less the amount they created. She quickly headed towards the elevator on that floor.

Reaching for her codec, she contacted Angel to get an update, "Angel, how are you holding up?"

The elevator door opened. One guard passed her and gave a nod of greeting as she did the same.

Angel's face brightened, "I'm just fine. Where are you, Meryl?"

"I'm heading towards Dr. Emmerich's lab to make sure he is okay."

"Don't worry," Angel reassured, "I bet they won't kill off their lead scientist just yet."

"Probably," Meryl needed something to do, "I'll check the area for Snake, so I can warn him of any danger. Not like last time."

Snake...her hero...the man who inspired her...counted on her to help him with his mission. She couldn't look at herself in the mirror ever again if she caused her idol to die.

Angel noticed her face frown with ignominy, "Hey, that little skirmish in the cargo bay wasn't your fault. Don't think about it."

"Hey, speaking of Snake," the elevator door chimed and she stepped out. The bluish interior of the room was deserted.

Angel held her hand to the monitor to halt Meryl's mouth, "I left him in the Canyon. The supplies I left him should do him some good. That handsome man will be fine."

"Handsome, huh," she was showing a hint of envy towards Angel, "You're in love with him."

"What," Angel yelped in disgust, "No, it's not like that. I was making an observation that's all."

"Okay! Okay! Sheesh, don't bite my head off about it."

"Sorry."

"Where are you, Angel?"

Meryl shifted her eyes to the clear, glass door in the upper right corner of the room as Angel's long stare in the space gave her no answer.

"Well, Angel," she disregarded Angel's hesitation, "Why don't you met me here?

Meryl didn't need a babysitter but since Angel knew the area more, she probably won't make any more rookie mistakes.

Another long pause answered the codec, Angel's blank stare irritated Meryl, "What's the matter?"

Shaking her golden locks, Angel shivered, "I'll talk to you later."

"Hey," her cry didn't stop the monitor on her screen from turning black.

Angel's strange behavior really concerned her but she dismally waved her mind of prejudged thoughts. Meryl entered the clear, glass door with a three on top of it. If memory serve her right, Dr. Emmerich's lab was nearby.

The walkway in front of her had doors on its left side and the floor was gated with vents. Guards were at the other end of the hall gathering in a circle formation. Walking slowly forward, she heard cackling and snickering coming from the guards.

Their conversations were jokingly horrible as she clearly heard their loud mouths blister with mockery.

"Hey, what should we do with the scientist," Meryl eavesdropped on the guards' banter but with her disguise, she tried to act droopy about what they were saying. Their uniforms were the same as the guards up in the first floor were wearing.

"I say we toughen him up a bit, if you get my drift."

"Nah, he couldn't handle the pressure."

"That's the point."

"Just shut up, you guys. The guy is going to end up dead in a few days anyway."

"Hey, let's head back to patrol."

The guards disappeared as Meryl followed their trail. Turning left, she headed towards a door with a rectangular opening. Red markings were on the door reading "Hal's Lab". She also spotted a gun camera hanging in the upper corner of the door. The door opened and introduced her to a small, brightly lit room. In the center of each wall on the left and right, small air holes batched together blew cool air towards her uniform. It blew away dust and smaller particles from her disguise. Exiting the room, a gray interior room directed her to her left where a third security level door laid.

The hall rumbled with laughter and whimpers. Meryl pierced through the hallway with speed. She was worried about Dr. Emmerich. Again laughter ricocheted the dull indigo hallway. Penetrating the fourth security level door, she pierced through the lab which was full of glass cubicles and silver walls. The fluorscent lights hanging overhead brightly colored the room. She noticed two guards poking and slapping a man wearing a white lab coat. The scientist was sitting on one of those chairs with wheels staring at a computer monitor pasted on a wide station. His hands were over top his brown hair as he tried to defend himself weakly.

Meryl growled under her balaclava as the two guards who were wearing the same gas masks and enviro-suit as the men outside. Noticing that her disguise will probably give attention, her forehead drizzled sweat but her anger at the guys through fear out the window.

"Come on," the guard on the left, who had a southern accent, slapped the table, "watch the video! I bet you want to see your friends."

"Though their faces might look a bit mutilated," the other guard laughed menacingly.

Meryl strolled past a couple of cubicles stalking when one of the guards caught a glimpse of her.

"Hey," one of the guards yelled, "are you the one assigned to look after this pip-squeak?"

"Come on," the guard on the right slapped the coy scientist in the head.

The guard with the southern accent placed a small disk inside one of the computer monitor's CD drives. He waved his hand at Meryl motioning her to join them. In disgust, she imagined herself beat the crap outta these guys for torturing this poor man. She knew how futile it was though. If they discover she is not who they think she is, they could raise an alarm and that will put Snake, Angel, and herself in danger. Meryl bit her lip to silence her resentment towards the men. She followed the man's hand and drew her head closer to the computer screen.

The scientist was trying to escape the video but the guards were too strong for him. The screen on the monitor showed a loading bar. As the yellow stream reached the ended of the bar, the screen went black again yet reloaded to white flash of snow. The video seemed to be from a camera from above. Snow was gently falling on the screen as Meryl realized that the place she was looking at was the Canyon area but she also noticed that it was bigger than the Canyon area. Heck, she never saw that place before. She closed her thoughts as she saw people moving inside the camera's lens

_Six men and two women wearing white lab coats were sitting down on the snowy ground against the wall of rocks. Some were holding their knees together shivering in the night's brisk wind. _

"_Alright, all of you stand up," a man wearing a tan trenchcoat appeared waving his revolver up and down with the jolt of his wrist._

"_Ocelot, stand back from the prisoners," a furtive British accent echoed in the blizzard._

The man stood in the camera view with a pride stride and only one name uttered from Meryl's mind, "Liquid."

_Ocelot stood back and chuckled as he placed his revolver back inside the leather gun holder. _

"_Please," a woman with square glasses and long, brunette tied in a ponytail begged, "let us go."_

_Liquid chuckled and laughed mockingly at the woman as he stood 3 feet away from them. His stance changed from arrogant pride to a more darker, menacing posture, "You all here today to see your wrongs."_

"_What wrongs? What are we being accused of," a tall, black-haired man who was in the middle of the line-up stomped his feet forward._

_Liquid hissed like a snake, "Watch your feet, Dr. Davis."_

_In fright, the man put his back against the wall and cursed his wimpy nature. Liquid rubbed his blond hair, "As I was saying, you all need to be punished."_

"_What did we do," the second woman with a red bobcut, who was last in line, quivered, "What are you accusing us with."_

"_For murder," Liquid made his voice sound flawless._

"_Murder," a man with red highlights on his blonde hair shouted, "we never killed anyone unlike you and your band of weirdos!"_

"_You're wrong," Liquid stepped forward slightly ignoring the insult, "when you helped Dr. Emmerich with Metal Gear Rex, you made a weapon of mass destruction._

"_You liar! It's just a TMD module!"_

"_Such naïve souls," Liquid almost showed a glow of pity but it turned back to an evil grin, "Metal Gear Rex is a new weapon that will lead the world into war. Your superiors lied to you so that you, college grads, would put your young, energetic selfs into a government's secret black project. That whole story about it being a defensive mechanism against nuclear warfare was a clever ploy to suck your pathetic souls into their web od deception. Metal Gear Rex will spread fire and ash throughout the world. Conflicts...wars...A perfect weapon for my perfect world."_

She couldn't believe what she heard from Liquid's mouth. Pitting the world in war...murder...red glares of bombs exploding...Meryl shook her head in revolt.

"_No," the woman with brunette hair shook her head in agony, "they lied to us."_

"_Yes, it's a pity. Thank you for all your help in creating my dream," Liquid put his hands up in the air._

"_It's a shame that you all won't live long enough to witness it."_

"_Go to hell," the woman with the bobcut screamed."_

"_We are already in hell, my dear," Liquid stated coldly, "though I won't spread your blood on my hands. No, I have to keep some room for my brother."_

Meryl noticed a shadow floating around as Liquid sidestepped and ambled backwards. Meryl couldn't see who it was as the person blended in with the snow and had a hood covering his head.

_Liquid nodded his head, "Meet my personal bodyguard. Though I really don't need one but she really knows how to do wetworks." _

"_She is also my personal executioner."_

_The white hooded figure pulled out a weapon. The scientists screamed as it aimed. The figure tilted the weapon slowly and fired. Flashes of light beamed at the scientists. Blood spattered on the rocks and covered the white snow._

Emmerich went nuts and tried to get away from the reality of it but the two guards pinned his shoulders, "Hey, it's not done yet, Dr. Emmerich."

_Some tried to run but the bullet hit their spinal cord paralyzing them. The woman with the bobcut hair begged the figure to stop but the bodyguard just shot her in the head ruthlessly._

_All the people who were paralyzed met the same fate. A bullet to the brain. At the end of all the killing, the hooded figure walked closer to the camera above but when the face was about to be revealed, the snowy blizzard worsened._

_The camera went dark._

Meryl was nauseous. Those scientists were harmless...defenseless. They were exterminated like rats in a cage.

"That was refreshing," the guard with the southern accent stretched his arms, "Let this soldier take care of him until we get off our patrol routes."

"All right."

The guards left the room roaring with laughter as Dr. Emmerich had his head buried in his arms. Meryl didn't know what to do. Setting her FAMAS down, she tried to seem as harmless as she could to the scientist.

"Dr. Emmerich," she tried to get his attention but to no avail. He murmured something but it was too muffled.

"Dr. Emmerich, I'm here to make you're okay."

Suddenly, a force pulled the shaky scientist towards the waste can near one of the cubicles. He coughed and gagged as all the blood of his friends caused his insides to burst. Meryl placed her hand on the man's shoulder as he tried to pull himself together. He wiped his mouth on the long, white sleeve of his coat before looking at her with fear and rage.

"No," the timid man shook his head moving under the computer console where he witnessed the murder of his fellow colleagues, "you are here to make me watch this video again. No, I won't be trick the third time."

"Look at me, Emmerich," she let out an irritated sigh and took off her mask. Her red hair puffed out like a balloon. She shook it a little and gave it more volume.

"Do you see females wearing these types of green uniforms," she shrugged her arms. Emmerich looked up from his fetal position in awe.

"Wait, you are the red-head that the men are looking for," he breathed a sigh of relief and crawled out of his little hole, "so you're not one of them."

"Look, I can't stay here for long or get you out of here," the look of despair on Emmerich's face made her cringe herself for that direct statement, "but I have a friend who might help you out if you give him information."

"Really," his light, hazelnut eyes lid up. He pushed his silver lining glasses back towards his nose.

"Yes," she heard something outside, "Look, tell Snake I'll meet him in the girl's bathroom. I have to go."

Meryl put her balaclava back on. She made sure none of her red hair stuck out. Emmerich took out the disk from the computer and placed it down right next to it shaking.

Picking her FAMAS back up, she nodded, "Don't worry! Snake will be by soon to rescue you. I'm heading to the 1st basement. Bye."

Emmerich gave out a weak departing as Meryl walked out of the room curving her hips side to side.

She headed towards the elevator to get to the 1st floor basement where in due time she will meet the legendary Solid Snake. She pushed the button of the elevator and stepped inside. A flicker of static caught her attention as the elevator's door closed.

"What was that?"

* * *

**Who is Liquid's bodyguard? Can you guess? Meryl is really beating herself up about her mistake.**

**"The biggest mistake we make is the greatest lesson we learn."**


	21. The Ninja Returns

**This chapter caused me some confusion but with a clear mind, the confusion passed.**

**Oh! I'm so excited!**

* * *

Attack!

Snake felt the cold breeze changed into a warm yet oily smell as the bay doors closed behind him. Chain, rusty black stairs led to a large glass pane that concave to the room beyond the loading bay door in front of him. The bay door seemed busted exposing the air of the opposite room.

His codecstarted ringing. The monitor exposed the same blond, bobcut hair woman who helped back with that tank, "Now, since you are now out of harm's way, let me greet you in more… pleasant tone. This is Nastasha Romenako. A pleasure to work with you, Solid Snake."

He humored the woman, "You're the nuclear specialist that the Colonel was talking about?"

"That's me," her strong Russian accent purred as she took a nip from her cigarette, "You can ask me all about nukes that you want. I'm also a military analyst, so I have an extensive knowledge of weapon systems as well. They asked me to participate in this operation as a supervisor from the Nuclear Emergency Search Team. I was happy to accept."

"We must not allow terrorists to get their hands on nuclear weapons of any kind" her tone twinkle a fury resolve in her eyes, "I hope I can help you to stop them."

"You're a tough lady," he had to smirk about this woman's determination.

"Those terrorists are serious about launching a nuclear weapon? The world cannot stand by idly and allow that to happen. And neither can I...," she released a heavy sigh to calm down as she rubbed her golden, boy cut hair, "Unfortunately, all I can do from here is provide you with information."

Nastashaseemed like a fighter, but even if she hated the fact of sitting around, she had no place here in this situation anyway, "Hopefully that'll be enough. Another soldier here wouldn't make a difference anyway. It's good to work with you, Nastasha."

"Same here, Snake," she gave him a cheeky grin before ending the transmission.

He decided to go up the stairwell to peek at the room ahead before blindingly crawling in. Skidded his fingers across the railings, Snake peered inside the glass pane. A total of two guards were in its vicinity. They both were wearing identical yellow environmental suits with their faces covered in gas masks. Looking down, he saw three missiles which were in the process of being loaded into long cardboards. One guard was walking aroundthem lazily. He noted long, stacked cardboard boxes covering half of the room's perimeter in front of the elevator. Veering his eyes up the second level of the room, he saw the elevator which will lead him different sectors of the building.

Jumping off the railing, he landed easily on his two feet as he crawled steadily inside the nuclear storage area. Before he could survey the area for any changes, his codec rung again with the Colonel's face pasted on the monitor.

"Be careful," the Colonel's voice was slow and caveat, "You must not use any weapons on that floor."

Naomi's face appeared in the monitor directly talking to the Colonel, "I already programmed his nanomachines so he won't be able to, Colonel."

"What," Snake was perplexed, "What are you talking about?"

"Have you forgotten? This is where they keep the nuclear warheads. Can't you see them?"

"Yeah," he noticed boxes and boxes stacked above and below each other, "there are a lot of boxes piled up here but are all of them warheads?"

He surveyed the cardboards with a sudden anxiety yet thrill.

"Yes, they are all dismantled warheads," the colonel shook his head at the recklessness.

"Totally careless," Snake mumbled.

"They work on a limited budget. They try to be up a pretty picture for the media but this is the grim reality of it."

"Yes," Naomi confirmed, "but the good news is that all their mechanisms have been removed."

"So, what's the problem?"

Nastasha took Naomi's place, "Plutonium. If you fire your gun and hit the warheads, plutonium will leak and that will be a serious problem. It's strange…" her eyes drifted off the codec screen as she finished her sentence, "that the guards are carrying weapons though."

"Head to the elevator, Snake," the Colonel commanded, "We have to make contact with Dr. Hal Emmerich."

A guard was in front of him checking the camera hanging in his front side. Snake took the distraction and started towards the stairway. Keeping an eye above, the guard blocking the elevator moved towards the stairs. Crouching, Snake slowly stepped on the first step watching the yellow-hooded patrol. Moving more upward, the man stopped at the corner and turned around back to the elevator passing it. Snake tip-toed big steps finally making it up the level. The guard had his back turned.

Snake skid his back against the russet wall until he hit the corner. The guard disappeared from his view as Snake pushed the elevator to come up. A chimed ringed and Snake slid inside and pushed the arrow down two times heading to the 2nd floor basement.

He heard a bump overhead. He looked at the ceiling of the elevator suspiciously. He aimed his SOCOM pistol. Nothing happened as the elevator's doors opened exposing a bluish interior with a clear, glass door in upper right hand corner. He walked backwards still aiming his automatic pistol at the elevator's bright ceiling until the doors closed.

Deciding to let it go, he turned around towards the clear, glass door. The second door opened up to reveal a yellow spurt of gas. To be safe, he breathed in. If that wasn't bad enough, he noticed a whole load of electricity sparking the floor.

"Nerve Gas…and now an electric floor…these guys are really desperate to see me dead," Snake sarcastically thought.

He ran back inside the small room breathing in and out, "I need a new strategy."

Snake turned his head right and noticed something that he never saw before he entered the room full of nerve gas, "Hmm…"

It was a Nikita launcher and from the look of it, the launcher was different than the one he used before he retired. Snake noticed a piece of paper underneath the rusty, black launcher. He pulled the paper from its spot and noticed some writing on it.

The note read:

"Be careful! You only have two chances to hit the switch board. Use it wisely!"

Snake discarded the note and tossed the launcher to his side. He grunted in reminisce, "Still as heavy as ever."

Going back inside the nerve gas filled hallway, he fired one of the missiles. On top of the launcher's cylinder, a targeting system activated. Guiding the missile swiftly yet delicately, the green screen illustrated traditional scientist tools of research and studies. He was surprised by the gun turrets when he heard plummets of bullets veering towards his missile. Trying to confuse the turrets, he zigzagged inside a room full of electricity components. A silver, humming machine attracted Snake's attention.

"_That must be the control box."_

The explosion disrupted the current as sparks of fire collided with the floor. Snake had to exit the room as quickly as possible. His air supply was very low.

"_I wish I had a gas mask."_

He laid the launcher down, "I have no choice but to leave it here."

Turning around, he went back inside ready to hold his breath again when he noticed the yellow gas getting filtered out of the room, "I guess I do have a stalker."

Since the only enemy he had to face here was gun turrets, Snake decided to walk unarmed for the time being.

As he passed one of the small offices on his left, he saw a pair goggles. He grabbed the goggles, "Night Vision Goggles…may come in handy."

Stepping back outside, he went straight towards the corner and peeked around. A gun turret was scanning above a door leading to Emmerich's lab. He tossed a chaff grenade to disrupt the turret. As the turret went haywire, Snake raced through the door.

He noticed on each of the walls there were holes blowing cool air against his body.

"Agrrh!"

Jerking his head straight forward, he heard sounds of screams and sickening crunches. His codec rung, "Snake!"

It was Meryl and she seemed to be in good shape, "What is it, Meryl?"

"I found the card keys."

"You did? Where did you get them?"

"Snake, don't get worked up on the details," Meryl smiled.

Snake grumbled, "Where are you?"

"Above you. I'm checking out the area."

"Don't get yourself killed. You should…"

Mumbled shots were heard on the other side of his codec making Meryl shout in surprise, "Damn they spotted…"

A bullet stroke the monitor causing the transmission to be cut abruptly.

"Meryl! What happened?"

Just white static noise answered his roar.

"_Dammit! Why could you have stayed put, Meryl?"_

"Snake," Colonel Campbell stared at his emotionless face, "What's happened?"

"Meryl told me she had the card keys…"

"Isn't that good news," Naomi interrupted.

"Yes…but Meryl's codec was cut off by weapons fire. I'm worried about her."

Naomi seemed astound, "You're worried…about Meryl?"

"No," the answer was slow and carried nothing of concern nor regret, "She is carrying the card keys as she says. If she dies, the card keys are in the terrorist's hands which means…mission failed."

Naomi coldly gave Snake a disgusted look, "What! You're more concern about an inanimate object than a living, breathing human being" she narrowed her eyes as her lips quiver, "You heartless jerk!"

"I'm here to stop these terrorists from launching a nuke. I'm not a babysitter" his voice was still calm yet a growl formed in his throat.

"Why don't you show any emotion?"

"I don't have to explain myself to you!"

"Ah! You show anger but you're incapable of feeling nothing more…" Naomi rubbed her hair as the Colonel took her place with a distressed look.

"Naomi…" he gently pushed her away from the codec, "Snake, stop these terrorists that's all I can say. If you contact with Meryl, just make sure she is okay," the colonel's light brown eyes drooped down.

"Okay…" was all Snake could say to his friend.

"_You're incapable of feeling nothing more…"_

Forcing the heated conversation of humanity far from his mind, he maintained his objective to find Dr. Emmerich. He noticed blood smeared on the window of the door security labeled three. He took his pistol out and stepped inside cautiously holding his SOCOM straight forward.

Bodies, which were limp and dislocated, were scattered against the ground. A sea of blood covered the white, silverish walls and ceiling. Walls were full of cracks. It took some strength to crack a wall with a fragile human body, but whoever massacred the soldiers seemed well equipped to do just that.

Also, the area's smell was rancor.

He gradually stepped over one body of a guard wearing a yellow, environment suit. His chest was sliced opened. He observed the dead bodies and noticed deep cuts around their whole bodies in a crisscross pattern.

"All the bodies here seemed to be cut by some type of blade."

He noticed his radar was jamming, "Could it be…?"

A flash of static caused him to pit his back against the wall. He slid against the wall until he crossed a corner.

One guard was stabbed in stomach by a blade. He was groaning in agony as he was held in mid-air by an invisible ghost. The cloaking camodeactivated exposing the brown mixed with silver exoskeleton. The ninja had blood dripping around him as the guard was cut in half viciously.

The sword circled around the ninja slashing the consoles of the door and disappeared inside the lab leading to Dr. Emmerich.

"Crap…"

Snake stepped over the blood spattered torso half of the soldier and entered the damaged door. He focused his attention on the whimpering scientist shaking his knees. The ninja was standing right in front of him with his sword deadly close to the petrified man's neck.

"Where is my friend," the ninja coldly waved his sword near the scientist.

"Stealth Camouflage? Who...are you," the scientist's whimpering made him stutter. He let out a yelp when the ninja jerked his sword closer to his face.

He decided to step in. That ninja was about to cut Dr. Emmerich when he shot his pistol at the ninja who deflected it back towards him.

He ducked as the bullet simmered past him with a streak of white smoke residue.

"Oh! What next?"

Ignoring his sniveling victim, the ninja turned his head slowly at Snake.

"Snake…"

He said in a dark yet familiar manner.

"Get away from that man!"

Snake's cold reply made the cyborg ninja chuckled and sigh, "Same as always."

"Who the hell are you?"

"I'm going to enjoy this…Snake…," the metallic voice seamed with joy, "You and I will battle to the death. Just like before."

A cry from the scientist behind the ninja stammered as he spoke timidly, "This is just like my Japanese animes."

"What is this? Revenge?"

"No, this is nothing so trivial as revenge. My battle with you…" The ninja flipped forward, "is the only way my soul can find rest."

Pointing the tip of his sword at Snake, the ninja stretched his left leg forward with his body bending down, "I will kill you or you will kill me…it makes no difference to me."

Snake watched as the scientist ran inside a locker whining.

"Fine," the ninja pointed at the locker, "He can watch from inside there."

"I need that man. Keep your hands off him," Snake made a bearing against the battle hungry warrior.

"Now! Make me feel it" the ninja twirled his sword with streams of silver, "Make me feel alive again."

With that said, Snake watched as the ninja jumped forward with his hoary sword aiming at his gut like a streak of silver. Rolling to his right, Snake shot at the ninja as rapid as his finger pulled the trigger.

All his bullets were cut with excellent precision, "Damn!"

"Snake!"

Master Miller yelled in his ear, "That ninja is toying with you! Give him what he wants!"

Shooting at the ninja again, Snake hid behind a cubicle wall. The ninja just stood there making no attempt to come after him. It's blood red light between his eyes radiant with intensity.

"Naomi! Is this ninja part of Foxhound?"

"No…"

Naomi seemed hesitate to speak, "The only members of Foxhound…"

"…are the ones you listed before, I know."

"Who is this guy anyway?"

The question was directed to anyone but Naomi answered with a murmur, "I thought you would have figured it out all ready."

Her eyes stared at him daringly.

"What do you mean," he really was getting sick and tired of Naomi's personality.

"Nothing…nothing."

Snake turned the corner of his hiding place when he noticed the ninja disappeared from his spot. He looked around the small area. He ambled near the locker where the lab rat hid when he also noticed a wet puddle soaked on the carpet floor.

He walked forward sensing that the ninja may have cloaked when he was distracted by his support crew. Snake heard strange noises and several voices talking at once.

A brute force of wind sweeped him off his feet as the ninja reappeared right in front of him. The ninja arched his sword as his body lunged at the grounded Snake in the air.

"Oh! Shi…"

* * *

**Oh crap! Another cliffhanger *bangs her hand with a hammar* I'm getting just as bad as Shining Zephyr!**

**Naomi tests Snake again. Geez, let the man do his job!**


	22. Unexpected Visitor

**One more chapter until a scene that I can't wait to write!**

* * *

Unexpected Visitor

The tanned walls and the shining black marble floor with silver strokes didn't really ease her mind as her hands tightly held her FAMAS. A melody was playing. Its tone was low-pitched yet it gave a sense of stillness and dread towards her body.

"_And it's giving me a headache."_

The silver doors that she saw let her in automatically showing its contents. She stared inside the room. It gave off an atmosphere of a doctor's waiting room with the cool light gray walls and dark blue carpet floor. Two guards, wearing the same disguise, were circling around confirming nothing strange inside the numbered glass doors that appeared on each side of the room. There were six in total.

As she was about to enter the room fully, an arm snagged her neck in a lock with such force. Her weapon dropped in front of her as her body was too stun to react.

The two guards in front of her aimed their weapons hesitating to shot one of their supposedly comrades.

"Drop your guns or I will snap his neck."

As they stood there, she shifted her eyes on each itching to see what they would do. To the surprise of her own eyes, the guards dropped their automatic weapons.

A chilly silence took hold of the air as everyone was analyzing their roles. With a rebellious ring of roars, both guards dashed forward. Holding her neck still, the person's loose right hand with lightning pulled a small, black gun out and fired at both of the guards. A spark of electricity hit the side of both men's necks causing them to spasm and fall straight to the ground. The hold on her neck released opening her to attack the bastard for nearly choking her. She took her elbow back on the man's stomach.

She grabbed her FAMAS and aimed it at…

"Angel?"

"Meryl? Is this how you greet your allies?"

Angel showed no move in holding her stomach from the pain. Meryl lowered her weapon and took off her balaclava.

"Geez Angel" her face flashed red, "I could kill you for the stunt you have pulled!"

"Convincing, huh?"

"Huh! You're out of control. You could have…" Meryl's flash of angry didn't change as Angel giggled at her reaction.

"This is not funny!"

Angel shook her head, "Meryl. Relax everything is fine. I did it to clear the room so we, girls, can have a chat."

"I don't get you, Angel."

"It's not that hard to comprehend. It's humor…don't be so tense."

"Your humor is very dark" Meryl walked behind the crazy blond blowing a swirl of sore pride.

"Blame my upbringing," Angel followed Meryl.

Meryl looked straight at the hallway leading to the Commander's Room as she was about to head further Angel placed her free hand on her shoulder halting her.

"I think you should wait at least until Snake arrives here."

Meryl noticed Angel caressing the small gun that she used earlier, "What type of gun is that?"

"Oh! It really doesn't have very creative name" the light glared the gun, "but it is called the EZ gun."

"EZ gun? Never heard of it," Meryl still surveyed the tiny gun but the design had some familiarity, "It does remind me about some gun called a Liberator but the gun is outdated now."

"Outdated but special in its own little way," Angel held a stance with the gun aimed at the side wall.

"Where did you get it?"

"I deprived a certain gunslinger nostalgia. He should never take what isn't his."

Meryl noticed a smile on Angel's face but this was different from before. This one was soft and affectionate.

"I get the impression that you like this fragile excuse of a weapon."

The gun wasn't like her strong, durable Desert Eagle. It looked more breakable and too small to do any real style to it.

Angel ignored the insult, "This gun was a gift from my father for my 16th birthday."

Meryl gulped as Angel just smiled back. She placed the EZ gun opposite of her .95.

"Well, before I bore you with details of my life," Angel's voice was somber, "I should really get down to why I'm here risking you cover."

Angel bent her body forward towards her ear, "I have the keys."

At first, it didn't click in her mind about what she meant by "keys" but when Angel pulled a yellow card from within her white suit, she realized what she was referring to.

"The card keys!"

She remembered back at the holding cell hours before Angel arrived. Kenneth Baker was being held there and he blabbered about those card keys.

"Yes, but I can't have them" her arm stretched towards Meryl, "Here you go. Call Snake and tell him you have them."

She grabbed the card and twirled it between her fingers.

"You know you have to make up something. Don't let him know you got the cards from me."

Meryl didn't like that and still was interested as to why Angel didn't want to make her presence known. Well, it wasn't like Snake was going to bite her if she shown her face. Though…even she was nervous to see Snake face to face. Talking to someone on a codec wasn't really that brave nor really did it show real confidence. Maybe Angel was afraid but the question is why is she afraid?

She gave Snake's frequency a call, "Snake!"

His cold, emerald eyes blinked, "What is it, Meryl?"

"I have the card keys."

His face showed unbelief in her statement. _"So it's a good thing I didn't listen to you."_

"You did? Where did you found them?"

Meryl paused. _"What do I say?"_

"Snake, don't get worked up with the details."

Meryl grinned at her quick answer with no hesitation or mumble. Though, Snake didn't share her smile of triumph, "Where are you?"

"Above you" Meryl noticed Angel looking behind her worried, "I'm checking out the area."

"Don't get yourself killed. You should…"

Footsteps stormed behind as bullets zoomed past her and Angel, "There she is!"

She turned around to see a squad of elite soldiers aiming at her, "Damn! They spotted…"

Her codec jerked as a bullet damaged the screen. Angel grabbed her shoulders and pulled her away from gunfire.

"This way," Angel dragged her inside the girls' bathroom. Meryl sat down her FAMAS against the closest stall and took out her Desert Eagle while Angel had the EZ Gun close to her chest.

Five minutes past as the girls both held their respectable guns at the door ready for a shoot out. It became apparent that the soldiers weren't following them which really was strange.

"I wonder why they are not following us, Angel." she noticed Angel staring at herself in one of the mirrors above the sinks, "Angel?" Her blue eyes twinkled in her reflection as her hand caressed the scar on her right cheek distracting her.

Meryl looked at the scar from a distance. The scar showed some signs of healing but the cut still was horribly deep and disgusting but for some odd reason, the scar gave Angel something mysterious yet mystical. Where ever or whoever she got it from must have hated her to give her that deep of a marking.

"I'm not that interesting, aren't I?"

Angel's soft-spoken nature made Meryl's face grow pale with embarrassment.

"Sorry, that scar…where did you get it?"

"This scar," she outlined its jagged edge as she closed her eyes, "was given to me by my false charade. My false sense of belief in one's salvation…"

Meryl was at a loss for words.

Angel outstretched her arms against the sink, "Meryl?"

"Yeah."

"Did you want to be a soldier," Angel's eyes roamed the fluorescent light above searching for some higher presence.

"Always have," her hands skimmed the surface of the silver stall wall, "Never wanted to be anything else."

"But if you had a choice to leave, wouldn't you?"

Meryl shook her head defiantly. Ever since she was eight years old, being a soldier was more important to her than getting married or falling in love. A gun more satisfying than make-up.

"I wonder if you will change your mind once you see the world you're about to witness."

She looked at her disguise that glued to her body for protection. A smell of blood had formed and drove her crazy as she inhaled the fumes of war. Her thoughts were swirling with questions with no answers. They all circled around one focal point --- her father ---. She only remembered two glances of her father before her mother got the call that he will never come back. Her mother fainted back on the couch as she stood there, holding a picture she drew for her father. She never understood her father's lifestyle and that was a catalyst for her early years of studying military traditions as her mother tried to teach her to be a woman. Dreaming one day that she will meet the standards of a true soldier and follow the steps her father left for her. She still wondered if she truly knew what she was doing.

Angel sighed, "Meryl, just be you."

"What?"

"Expectations usually are hard to follow especially for our kind of work."

There may be some truth to her words but Meryl still felt the urge --- the instinct--- to push herself over the edge. She really did what to see how much her body can take. She wanted to be…

Her thoughts grew still. The bathroom swirled into a monochromatic painting. No color. No substance. A twitch curled her spine as she realized that she lost control of her body. She grew afraid and really wanted to scream for Angel, who still was observing herself in the mirror.

"_You are a mirror."_

The voice was ominous and mesmerizing with a hint of pure evil intent.

She felt fingers dig into her skull as her red lips repeated the words, "You are a mirror."

Her voice was overshadowed by that same demon. Her innocent expression was twisted into a darker, sly appearance.

"Meryl," Angel was wearing a look of puzzlement noticing the odd behavior coming from her, "your voice sounds different."

"_How long can you hold this buoyant view of life?"_

"How long can you hold this buoyant view of life?"

"As long as I draw breath," Angel's face shined with a sheer fortitude.

"_Haha! He is as bad as the rest. Why hold so much faith in nothing? Death is inevitable."_

"Haha! He is as bad as the rest. Why hold so much faith in nothing? Death is inevitable."

The whole scene felt like a horror movie where the serial killer was watching his victim, the camera in his point of view. It made people want to scream for the victim to escape the killer's grasp futilely. She couldn't control her body nor could she influence the scene before her. Insanity of losing self-control filled her mind. Frustration fueled her soul for the fiend who was using her to speak his damned words.

Angel played along with the question, "Life is forever."

"_A warning, shadow of light. Interfere and you die!"_

"A warning, shadow of light. Interfere…" Meryl felt her mind seize a purple lightning rod, "and you die!"

Meryl's eyes closed and she heard a groan of pain before opening them. Angel was against the wall with little smidgens of smoke simmering from her uniform.

"Angel!"

Meryl crouched near Angel who seemed to be unconscious. She yelled her name again while nudging her shoulder. A groan gave her a sign of relief as Angel gradually opened her eyes.

"Meryl, what the heck," Meryl grabbed her elbow and helped her up.

"What do you mean," Meryl watched as Angel looked at her with suspicious eyes.

"You were talking strangely and suddenly you throw a purple lightning thingy at me," Angel rubbed the back of her head.

Meryl checked herself, "What are you talking about? I closed my eyes and here you were hurt."

"You don't remember…? Forget it…" Angel turned the facet of the sink. Her gloved hands wet her face with fresh water as she tried to recover herself.

Meryl shook her head at Angel's weird attitude.

A sound of a radio conversation caught the ears of Angel and herself. Boththinking the same thing, they both hung their heads out of the threshold of the door. Six guards were standing outside the elevator. The leader of the squad was standing near the controls holding a black walkie-talkie.

"Sir, my troops and I are waiting for your orders to proceed with the ambush."

"This is my final chance," the voice on the other side had a hint of aggravation, "Make sure you grab him this time. There is no margin for error."

"Yes, sir," the guard pushed a button on the controls as the doors opened the troops moved in a single file, "No mistakes."

The leader of the squad entered the elevator before the doors closed leaving the girls to assimilate the situation.

"They are going to try and ambush Snake," Angel whispered, "I have to go down and help him."

"So you're going to introduce yourself to him now," Meryl grabbed her FAMAS and checked its ammo noticing that no ammo was in the chamber.

"Damn," Meryl cursed, "No ammo."

"You might not need it," Angel was also checking her .95, "I'm short but it's not like I don't have another."

Angel headed out towards the elevator. Standing near the entrance, she hit the controls.

"You can't go down there and take them on," Angel ignored Meryl's comment as the elevator hummed.

"I'm not playing hero," the doors opened, "but it's not like we have a choice here. Meryl stay here, if everything works out, Snake and I will meet you in the girls' bathroom"

"And if not?"

"Then God help you," the doors closed on Angel leaving Meryl inside a dead room. Her stomach grew queasy at the thought of defeating the terrorists and stopping a nuclear disaster on her own. She wasn't experienced enough to handle a world crisis not yet. She started praying safety for Snake and Angel.

The melody she heard earlier started playing again. The notes made her sway with the music. Her eyes grew droopy. Her mind was in trance until she snapped her eyes opened.

"I can't wait get out of this room."

* * *

**That melody I wonder what it could mean? *spooky laughter***


	23. A Walking Corpse

**This chapter was suppose to contain the ninja and Otacon scenes respectively. I decided to do Otacon's scenes the next chapter because I felt Snake hasn't been getting the spotlight as much as I hope in terms of character emotions...thoughts. I don't want to skip a single opportunity of exploring our hardened soldier, Solid Snake.**

**I hope my fight scenes are a little bit better. Fight scenes are really challenging to me.**

* * *

A Walking Corpse

"Oh Sh…"

He rolled backwards and felt the wind of the sword. The ninja was still in his crotched position as he threw a kick towards the red light blinking at him. Flipping over, the ninja chortled. Snake aimed his automatic pistol at the ninja.

"_All right, you win."_

Knowing full well that the bullets will just be deflected or sliced, he holstered his weapon. Snake put his half-clenched hands in the air as the ninja sheathed his sword.

"Now, we can fight as warriors," the ninja stretched his body forward with his fists dangling in front of him, "Hand to hand is the basis of all combat. Only a fool trusts his life to a weapon."

Snake gave the first move as his fists swirled the ninja's face and ribs. The ninja took all the pain with great pride exhaling the air from his lungs. Snake's quick punches chnage in speed. Taking advantage of the change in momentum, he crashed his helmet against Snake's bandana. Snake's forehead pounded with pain. The ninja went straight forward with a right hook against Snake's jaw. Snake, reflectively, danced his head opposite of the fist and gave his opponent a real hard uppercut cranking the ninja's head forcefully back. The man pulled his head forward and jumped in the air as Snake held his ground ready to defend his body. Swirling his body, he drove a kick to Snake's face. Snake staggered back cupping his hands on his face which burned from the force of the ninja's suit. An air of sparks covered the floor as the ninja landed on the floor causing ripples against the currents. Leaving no move to recover, Snake gave a quick left hook to the ninja's cheek. As the ninja fumbled, Snake jabbed his elbow against the ninja's cheek.

A war cry screamed from inside the suit as the ninja took in the damage that he endured, "Hurt me more!"

He rammed Snake's back against the flimsy metal locker. A yelp of surprise came from the adjacent locker where Dr. Emmerich was hiding. His back laying against the broken door of the locker, Snake tried to shimming his body forward. Clawing his shoulders, the ninja was jabbing Snake's stomach with his knee. Holding back the blood that was ready to burst out of his body, Snake used the force of his body to burst out of the locker. Pushing the ninja a few centimeters, Snake gave high kick to the face. The man chuckled as he stepped back.

The ninja let out a joy of content, "That's good, Snake. Ready for round two?"

There was something familiar about this ninja. His techniques…his words…the whole scene gave him a sense of déjà vu.

"_Snake, you're losing!"_

"_Shut up, I'll beat you this time!"_

"_Don't count on it, rookie."_

Jumping into a cloak of light, the ninja disappeared from his sight.

"Come and find me!"

Snake made his head searching his surroundings swiftly trying to find his cloaked opponent. As he searched corner after the corner, the ninja's taunts echoed giddily.

"I'm over here, Snake."

The office space near him looked messy as paper slid down the edges of the desk. Snake went closer to the desk quietly.

"You have forgotten about the game already?"

"Forgot the game?"

"_Hurry up and catch me!"_

"_Where did you go?"_

"_That's for you to find out."_

Stack of white printer papers were on the floor. He smiled as one of the papers had a foot print right on it. Pretending to be careless, his back was turned away from the desk.

"_Where are you?"_

"_Here I am!"_

An arm tightly wrapped around his neck.

"I guess you never learned," the low, metallic voiced whispered in his ear. The arm felt like a python squeezing the oxygen from his air pipe. His throat was burning as the muscles pushed his vocal cords back.

"No, but I guess you never did either, Fox" Snake garbled. Surprisingly, he elbowed and flipped the ninja on the ground. The ninja hit the floor with a huge thud causing him to arch his spine. Snake soaked in the air with a deep inhale to bring oxygen back into his lungs.

"Hurt me more," the grounded man pleaded as he rolled over. Giving the ninja his wish, Snake grabbed his hard, rubbery shoulders and threw him against the wall.

"_Hurt me more!'_

"_Why?"_

"'_Cause on the battlefield, pain makes you feel alive!"_

"Fox," Snake's adrenaline seeped away as he called for his friend in wonder but also compellingly.

Fox struggled to get up but with one slow push, he was back on his feet, "So you remember me? You still remember…"

The pulsing red light grew brighter as Fox looked at his body. A surge of electricity caused him to scream, "Gggggyyyyyaaaaaaaaaaahhhh!"

"What? Not again" Snake stepped back alittle as the ninja was having another episode. The man's body was frenetic, "The mediciiiiiine!"

The fluorescent lights flickered as the mainframes, glass covering the walls and monitors broke simultaneously.

Snake watched as Fox kneeled before him breathing heavily. He bashed his helmet against the carpet floor multiple times.

"I'm losing myself," he continuingly crashed his forehead firmly against the weak carpeting.

"Fox," Snake barked trying to snap the man back into reality. Fox slowly broke from his insanity.

The helmet covering the face of his former friend kept looking at him keenly. His soul was buried inside the exterior of that exoskeleton. Inside was his friend but outside…it was a beast.

A twitch of guilt filled his emerald eyes as Fox, who seemed lost and afraid, scurried away from him with nothing but a chilly silence. He was tempted to chase after him but he had to report to the Colonel.

"Colonel," his eyes' closed shakily, "That ninja is Gray Fox. No doubt about it."

The Colonel's brown eyes were in disbelief as he could hear a crack in Snake's voice, "No, Fox is dead. You killed him in Zanzibar Land, remember?"

He remembered…just like it was yesterday.

"_A minefield…a perfect place for the battle of the century."_

"_Fox! You should have stay out of my way."_

"_No Snake, you should have never came back."_

"No, he should have died," Naomi Hunter countered. Snake opened his eyes in shock of Hunter's cold expression.

"Huh," Colonel was dumbfounded.

"They were using a soldier for their gene therapy experiments."

"I never heard about that."

"It happened right after you retired when my predecessor, Dr. Clark, was in charge. They decided to use the body of a soldier who was recovered from the wreckage of Zanzibar Land."

"And that was Gray Fox," Snake, who was listening, was haunted by images of Fox lying on the ground a bloody mess struggling to speak his true feelings.

"_I could never live a normal life, Snake. The battlefield was the only place…the only purpose I had in life._

_"Promise me...you will live, Snake. Don't be a monster like me!"_

"But he was already dead," the Colonel stated with shock.

"Yes," Naomi's silverish eyes glared with intensity, "but they revived him."

Her tone was of scorching hatred, "They fitted him with an exoskeleton and kept him drugged for four years while they experimented on him like a lab rat" she paused letting out a heavy air of control before continuing, "Today's genome soldiers were born from those experiments."

Rage burned inside Snake. He could imagine the needles prodding into his friend's body as scientists with shiny glasses wrote notes on their clipboards. Imagining his friend on a table...crippled…bleeding…helpless, a boiling fire clenched his fists with the thought of Gray Fox, a human test subject for gluttonous scientists trying to earn fame and glory. He felt really compelled to find those scientists and give them the same pain that they gave Fox. His stomach roared with an uneasy feeling. Looking at his blue gloved knuckles, he realized that he himself had harmed Fox. In a way, he gave Fox's body to those scientists on a silver platter when he defeated him in that minefield.

_"I'm not a rookie anymore! You will die here, Fox."_

The Colonel's cheeks were green with nausea, "That's the sickest thing I ever heard. It's inhuman. Disgusting,"

"They used him for all sorts of treatments," Naomi calmly mumbled.

The Colonel gazed at Naomi, "Why didn't you tell us this before?"

Naomi couldn't look at him, "I'm sorry I didn't mention this before, Colonel. I was sworn to secrecy."

"Is that the only reason," Snake added as he questioned her cliché answer. Her eyes couldn't dare to face his cold, accusing face.

"So what happened after?"

"Records say that he caused an explosion killing himself along with Dr. Clark. Probably getting his revenge," a shower of justice caused Naomi laugh curtly.

He glanced at the entrenched imprint of Fox's head below his feet. He ran his fingers against it as he held back something in his throat.

His friend was a walking zombie. This wasn't Fox…the one he fought back five years ago. This was only the shell of him. His spirit was trapped inside the skeleton choking the flesh inside of him.

"We will meet again. I know it."

He was the only one who can help him. On instinct, Fox knew this too.

"So, you will fight again…" Naomi's softened, "until you kill him."

"I don't know. Maybe that's what he wants."

Naomi left the codec in a peace. Still eyeing the imprint, he couldn't help but feel responsible. He was the one who crippled him in the first place. His fists were covered in the blood that spurt out of his friend's muscular body.

A hollow hole that formed so long ago in his heart quivered with the thought of killing him again. "_Fox…why do you have to do this to me?"_

"_Fox…Gustava is waiting for you."_

"_Gustava…" Fox reached to the heavens above and stared at his friend with a genuine smile, "Thank…Thank you, Snake."_

"Can I come out now," a timid voice spoke out. Snake totally forgot about the engineer hiding in the locker.

He had to get his mind focused. There was still a mission to complete and he was the only one who could accomplish it even though he didn't want to do it in the first place.

Standing in front of the locker, Snake lowered his head.

"_You were right, Fox. I guess men like us can't have any peace."_

"Come on," he opened the locker to expose a scrawny man with glasses wearing pants that were wet with urine.

* * *

**Oh, Snake is having a guilty trip. Poor man!**

**"A soldier's skills must never be used to hurt friends." If you get this quote, have a cookie!**


	24. Otacon

**(Some of you may have read this earlier but I deleted it because of how poorly written it looked! Blah)**

**This chapter is a little bit boring. I'm not going to lie about that. I did change it some but mostly it's the same.**

**Sorry, I tried to make it as interesting as possible. What can you do to a cutscene that's already perfect?**

**Also, I'm glad my depression state is gone.**

* * *

Otacon

The scrawny man's knees were still shaking violently. His lips quivered as he stared at him with eyes of pure fear.

"I'm not one of the terrorists," Snake tried to reassure the doctor but the man still don't bulge out of his terrified state..

"Your uniform is the same as…" his teeth started clattering hard.

"Same as who?"

"No! You came here to kill me," the man got up with a burst of courage and slammed the locker door. Snake's blue gloved fingers were smashed in the process. The spike of pain that scratched his skin made him curse quietly to himself. He was mostly angry at himself for being careless than from the pain itself.

"Get out of this locker now," he banged the metal door. Stepping back, Snake was growing impatient.

"You got to the count of five!"

"One…two…." Snake couldn't believe that he was counting down. There was no time for these childish games. He, furiously, slid the door open like ripping a piece of paper. The jolt of surprise caused the skinny man to wet his pants so hard that it spread all over the tiny square floor. Snake grabbed the man by his collar pulling him out with a snarl of irritation never minding the icky smell. Emmerich fell on his knees in exhaustion when Snake finally let go of the labcoat's collar.

"You didn't count to five," the man's high, whining voice made him sound like a child as he tried to stand up without looking more of a wimp than he already had.

"I'm not a terrorist. You're Metal Gear Rex's chief engineer, Dr. Hal Emmerich?"

Steadying himself, Emmerich cleaned his glasses on his lab coat, "Yeah, that's me."

"I need information about Metal Gear Rex. What's it really designed for," Snake walked closer to Emmerich.

"It's a mobile TMD. It supposed to shoot down nuclear weapons for defensive purposes…"

Snake grabbed his collar and lifted him up in the air, "Liar!"

Emmerich's head boggled as his hair flew in his eyes. Snake sneered at the lying scientist, "I know it's a nuclear equipped walking death mobile!"

Snake saw Emmerich shaking in denial, "No…it was supposed to be for defense for…"

Snake jerked his hands forward, "Get it through your thick, technical head! The exercise was to prove Metal Gear's launch capability with a dummy warhead. The terrorists just replaced it with a real warhead…," the man's denial caused Snake to shake his head forcefully, "continuing the work you start!"

"No…you're wrong!"

"I heard it from your boss, Baker!"

Emmerich's face was disturbed and full of regret, "I built Rex! The weapons were for a different department. I didn't know about the nuclear weapon!"

"So…you really didn't know," Snake sarcastically laughed in his head. How ignorant can a scientist be?

Emmerich adjust his glasses and collar as Snake unclenched his fists, "I didn't find out about the warhead until recently…by a video."

"A video…what was on it," the man slowly walked towards the computer station limping along the way hissing.

"Hey, are you okay," Snake saw the man's ankle twisted as he sat down on the chair.

"Nothing bad…I twisted it trying to get away," he patted his ankle. Snake waved his hand, "If that's all…there is nothing to worry about."

A disk was lying on the workspace of the station. Its silver color reflected off the fluorescent lights making a colorful rainbow pattern. Emmerich put his hand over the disk cringing it.

"What is that?"

Emmerich paused taking a deep breath, "The other engineers in this project…my friends…"

Tears started falling from his eyes, "This is their execution."

"The other hostages were executed…hmmm…."

Emmerich put the disk in the tray showing Snake the whole video. Emmerich buried his head inside his arms as his ears rung with screams and gunshots.

Snake watched as Liquid introduced the harmless scientist to their doom. He saw the silhouette of the figure pulling the killings. Bodies were smearing blood on the white snow. Burning holes on the white lab coats, the person that pulled the trigger walked closer to the camera and a gleam of light flashed for a millisecond exposing the person's face. It wasn't enough to identify which Foxhound member it was. All he knew was that it was a woman. The only foxhound member who fit that description was the one called Sniper Wolf.

"Who is she?"

Emmerich paused the video on the white hooded shadowy figure. Snake leaned over squinting his hard eyes towards the killer, "I don't know. She was the seventh member of Foxhound that's all I know."

"Seven…" Snake recalled only six, "I thought there were only six members of Foxhound."

Shrugging his shoulders, Emmerich's eyes met his, "Six…Seven I don't know. I lost count."

"What are the specs for this new Metal Gear Rex?"

"Metal Gear Rex was built with a Vulcan cannon, laser gun, and a rail gun."

"A rail gun," Snake questioned.

"Yes…" Emmerich confirmed, "it magnetizes and fires bullets at extremely high velocities. The technology was originally developed for the SDI system but it was scrapped. We were successful in miniaturizing it in a joint venture between ArmsTech and Rivermore National Labs. The rail gun is located on Rex's right arm."

"But Metal Gear's main function is to launch nuclear weapons. Are you sure you're not forgetting something," Snake pushed.

'Rex has a module that can carry up to eight missiles but are you saying it was designed to carry real warheads?"

Snake leaned against the station with his arms crossed, "Yeah, but that's not all I think. If Metal Gear fired only standard nuclear weapons, they should already be ready to go," Emmerich had his chin resting on the web his fingers entwined as Snake continued, "Why the delay? It doesn't make sense."

Emmerich eyes bugged out as his body stand up sharply, "No, it couldn't be," the man stared at Snake, "Metal Gear's co-developer, Rivermore National Labs, was working on a new type of nuclear weapon. They were using NOVA and NIF laser nuclear fusion testing equipment and supercomputers."

"So they developed a new nuclear weapon in a VR testing lab, huh?"

"Yes, but they needed more than just virtual data. They wanted more reliable data to go along with the theories."

Emmerich motioned for Snake to follow towards the glass room with the three huge mainframes. The mainframes' screens were blinking either red or green button sized lights from different locations on the black background, "These are some of supercomputers. If you link these, you can test anything in a virtual environment. But it's all theoretical."

"So this exercise was supposed to test the real thing?"

A sob escaped the engineer's lips, "What did our president do? If the terrorists launch that thing…" he collapsed on the floor banging it with his fists, "Damn! I was supposed to escape this. It's all my fault!"

The man tried to speak through his tears of shame as he looked up at Snake with red, watery eyes, "The truth is…my grandfather was part of the Manhattan project. He suffered from the guilt for the rest of his life…"

"And my father…he was born on August 6, 1945…" he stood up trying to flick the tears off his eyes.

"The day of Hiroshima bomb…"this seemed more than just a case of bad luck, "God's got a sense of humor all right."

"Three generations of Emmerich men…" the gloomy expression on his face flew past Snake with guilt, "We must have the curse of nuclear weapons written into our DNA."

Snake watched as Emmerich put his back against the lockers like his knees were weakening right in front of him, "I thought I could use science to help mankind, but the one that wound up getting used was me. Using science to help mankind…it's just in the movies."

"That's enough whining," Snake harshly shook, "Pull yourself together. All I need to know is where Metal Gear is."

Emmerich straightened up, "Rex is stationed underground in the maintenance base."

"Where is that?"

"North of the Communications Tower but it's a long way there…" Emmerich limped towards the exit, "Let me take you there."

The prospect of a weak engineer slowing him down wasn't inviting. The man will only get in his way and he didn't like the idea of babysitting, "On that leg of yours…you will just slow me down."

"You need me if you are going to destroy Rex," he pleaded with the undaunted soldier.

"I don't need you. I just need your brain."

"I created Rex," Emmerich pointed to his heart, "It's my right…my duty to destroy him."

Snake unholstered his pistol making sure it wasn't jammed or slashed from the fight before, "The detonation override codes are there too?"

"Yes, in the underground maintenance base's control room," Emmerich shuffled, "They haven't called me in a few hours. They must not need me anymore."

Dark lines under the man's hazel eyes showed how unpleasant the engineer's last few hours were. His life was hold by a single thread, Metal Gear Rex, now it was cut. Terrorists wouldn't hesitate to kill this man if the opportunity presents itself.

"Look if you get a chance, try to escape. After I destroy Metal Gear, the place may go haywire. I'll contact you by Codec when the coast is clear."

Emmerich held his hands in the air, "How am I supposed to escape from an island?"

Snake grumbled and realized how right the engineer was. Emmerich brightened, "Hey, what about Meryl?"

"I lost contact with her," Snake still wondered if Meryl was still alive, he hoped so... for the sake of the mission.

"Oh," from the look on Emmerich's bony face, he seemed very concerned about a woman he only met once. Kind of reminds Snake how he reacted to the cut tranmission. He was worried but he was only worried about the card keys...not Meryl.

_"She was right. I am a bastard."_

"Well, if she is okay," Emmerich pulled out a card, "she could be hiding in the girls' bathroom…here's my level four card."

Snake took the card and placed in a safe place. He felt eyes stalking him causing him to look at Emmerich who had his mouth wide open frozen in thought.

"What is it?"

"Are you with a group or squad," Emmerich nervously spat out.

"No, I'm alone."

Being alone was much more straightforward than being with a group. He didn't have to worry about others endangering the mission or complicating it even more.

"Are you an otaku too?"

Snake cocked his eyebrow, "Otaku? What?"

Emmerich blushed waving his hands, "Nothing…it's just that I'm a loner too."

Butterflies swirled around his stomach as an air of silence accompanied felt fluid gurgling his insides with some fear. It caused him to sharply turned his head side to side in a panic. He felt like something bad was going to happen to him or to…" His eyes stared at engineer in front of him for reassurance that he was alive causing discomfort towards him.

"You're not in pain, are you?"

Snake patted Emmerich's broad shoulders causing the man to fidget uncomfortably. His face, that was so unconcerned…cold…showed a sense of caring, "You feel okay? Nothing bothering you?"

Emmerich felt awkward at the man's hardened face which edged closer to his own, "What's wrong? You're getting friendly all of sudden."

Snake lowered his head showing a side of embarrassment which was very unusual, "Nothing…I'm just glad you're okay."

"You're strange…" Snake looked up at the man noticing how tiny the space between the doc's and his face was. Collecting himself, he pushed back away any emotions he had and gathered back his cold exterior.

"I'm a little nervous. Everyone else I saved either gets shot up or dies instantly," pictures picked his brain with images of the Darpa Chief's shot up body or Baker's sudden yet unexpected heart attack.

"You're bad luck," Emmerich stepped back afraid of having more terrible experiences.

Snake cursed himself for the lack of self-control from the events that have happened to him so far. He didn't like people dying in front of him especially those he was supposed to keep out of harm's way, "Forget it, Doctor."

"Call me Otacon."

"Otacon?"

"It stands for Otaku Convention," Emmerich stared up at a poster with a group of animated people with spiky hair of different colors and lengths.

"Otaku is a person like me who likes Japanese Animation," Otacon's face glowed with glee, "I didn't get into science to make nuclear weapons. I did it because I wanted to build robots like I saw in my anime shows."

"Sounds like a childish excuse to me," Snake found no justification in Otacon's reasons. He had no one to blame but himself for creating a weapon of mass destruction. His childish dream turned into a nightmare of reality. No matter his intentions, the result was the same and he had to answer for it.

"You're right…" Otacon tore away from his fantasy, "Science has always thrived by war. Weapons of mass destruction were built by scientists who wanted to be famous."

He stood tall trying to be brave in his wavering words, "That's all over now. I won't take part in murder anymore."

"Whatever," Snake bluntly placed his hand on Otacon's shoulder, "Stay put. I'll come back for you."

"That's not necessary," Otacon reached his index finger inside his coat. In a split second, his body was transparent then invisible, "With this stealth camo, I should be fine…bad leg and all. My codec frequency is 141.12. See ya, later!"

Limping away, the doc exited. Now that was all over, he had to meet with Meryl…if she was still alive.

"Snake," his codec spring to life, "that was amazing."

Nastasha's heavy accent purred with interest, "Dr. Emmerich's grandfather was part of the Manhattan project? That was the project that lead to the development of atomic bombs Trinity, Little Boy, and Fatman. Little boy was dropped on Hiroshima and Fatman was dropped in Nagasaki.

Her eyes flushed with sorrow, "Hiroshima…Nagasaki…those scientists involved could no longer be clean of blood…Professor J Robert Oppenheimer, "The Father of the Atomic Bomb, said "The physicists have known sin and this is knowledge one cannot lose."

Nastasha cut off her transmission. Mei Ling took her place, "Sometimes I wonder if we, humans, are capable of making anything without it turning into some kind of weapon."

A silent wind blew over the hollow shell of the lab leaving Snake alone. He didn't really know what was in store for him. All he could do was exit the lab and head to the girls' bathroom.

Girls' bathroom…How many times had he have to go there to hide or meet someone? Snake chuckled but some memories were better than others.

"_You must be Gustava?"_

"_Who are you? Did you read the sign? It says women only."_

"_I need your help. It's about Kio Marv."_

Snake exited the lab. The dried blood on the walls and the smell didn't cause him to freak out but his nose did twinkled in disgust from the rancor stench of dead carcasses. The image of Gustava fell on his mind again. What a tough lady she was. When he met her, her muscles were huge matching her handsome face and tall figure.

"_Fr-Frank"_

Images of her body lying on the ground bloody and dislocated forced Snake to forget about what he was thinking earlier. He noticed the gun turrets were offline as his boots made a soft clamp on the metal floor which before was electrified.

Walking through the glass doors, the elevator door was already open. "_Something is wrong with this picture."_

A war cry heightened his senses as guards fell from the ceiling aiming their automatic weapons square at Snake. Automatically, Snake pulled out his SOCOM. There were six in total circling him. He tried to see a loophole in their defense but with his pistol against the heavily packed arsenal and their heavy blue armor, it was suicide to try.

"Put your weapon on the ground," one of the guards in front of him threatened. Snake complied and kicked it back.

"We have Snake surrounded, sir," one of the guards behind him clicked their radio, "Do you want us to kill him?"

"Yes," the voice was a little distorted but the accent was noticeable. It was that Ocelot he fought with earlier on. Smirking to himself, the old man probably still sour from being humilated.

With his hands up in the air, he eyed each guard as they all circled around him with starry eyes of bloodlust.

"Time to die, Snake."

Snake arched his back. No way was he going to die without a fight but...the problem is how to keep himself from being swiss cheese.

_"Well, I'm damned if I do, damned if I don't!"_

A huge crash flinched the trigger inchy guards as a person wearing light blinding fatigue landed softly from the ceiling of the elevator.

"Who the...?"

The guards shouted in confusion and rage. Soon, a barrcade of bullets ricoheted across the room.

* * *

**I'm sooo excited! My next chapter is going to be my challenge yet! I just noticed something. I seem to have a fascination with MG2: Solid Snake.**


	25. An Angel meets a Snake

**Yea!!! I'm back. Sorry for taking so long. School...and a cold to contend with really burned my brain. I like to thank Frank Hunter for looking over this and putting up with my writing! Thank you.**

* * *

Angel

"Who the…," the guards twisted their backs toward Snake, ignoring the orders they were given. The blonde woman walked forward with a petite yet secure stride. Snake noticed gun holsters on her waist, both of which were full. Strangely, she didn't make a move to take them out. Standing on the threshold, her eyes wandered to Snake. He felt a burly, warm wind awkwardly curve in his spine as her blue eyes sat still on his emerald ones.

"_Who is she and why is she staring at me like that?"_

She stared at him like a bird looking at some lonely human walking down a path from its tree. It expressed inquisitiveness…nervousness…and a hint of sly. The light from the fluorescent stacks on the elevator's ceiling shone off her bright blonde hair creating a halo. Still staring at him, his ears perked as if a child's laughter rung in them.

Her stone cold demeanor weren't even melted by the menacing, red lasers that pointed threateningly at her body. The guards jiggled their weapons, taunting the woman but nothing came out of it.

"Just kill her," a yell from behind Snake ordered.

The woman only closed her eyes as the rifles cocked ready for blood.

"_Move, you idiot" ._Snake thought of how big of a fool this woman was.

As the guards pulled the triggers, flames of fire and smoke twisted and smoldered the air. Smoke surrounded and consumed the woman in a blaze of dense fog that's seen in a cloudy morning. As the guards slightly released their forefingers from the grips of death, the fog slowly dissipated like a curtain being raised from a stage. The guards twitched their heads looking towards the gritty ground below them hoping to see the body of their prey.

He didn't pay attention. Snake knew that when the fog lifted, a bloody body on the ground will been seen mutilated, devoid of life. The woman tried to save his life but he only thought how foolish and idiotic the woman was to slip in and play hero. She didn't stand a chance.

The halo that shone from the woman's head glistened brightly. Gasps of bewilderment filled the room as the soldiers saw their prey standing with a smile that reach from ear to ear. The soldiers realized in a moment of truth. No bullet holes stroke any surface of the metal structure. It was like they shot blanks.

"Try it again," the same guard yelled as Snake felt the man's weapon force harder on his spine out of frustration.

Again, only blanks and smoke filled the air. One of guards, who was in a fit of rage, lifted his rifle ready to smack her in the head while the other one ran toward her. Swiftly, she caught the back handle of the rifle and kicked the other guard in the abdomen causing him to clinch over. She tore the rifle from the guard who tried to hit her and twisted it against him. Smacking his face good, the guard fell back on the ground. The middle guard rammed her making her drop the FAMAS she held. Her back was against the gritty metal of the elevator's floor as the guard strangled her with his weapon. The garbles of water from her throat spit out on her uniform.

The three guards who held their guns behind Snake's back were cheering and chastising the woman… in those few seconds Snake jabbed his elbow back at the face of the man behind him. The other two were caught off-guard as swift blows to their face and kicks to their lower pressure points caused their eyes to dazzle with stars.

Snake looked back to see the woman standing over the guard that was strangling her earlier. Three tranquilizer darts were sticking from his stomach.

"That was a miracle," she bent forward taking a FAMASfrom the hands of one of the unconscious enemies. The collar of her uniform still wrinkled with her own spit.

"Who are you," Snake said. He gripped the handle of his SOCOM.

The woman's blue eyes gazed at him as she walked forward, "My name is Angel."

"Stop right there," Snake pulled out his pistol. The woman stopped and smirked. She pulled the ammo clip and dropped the weapon gently. She shined the ammo clip at Snake's face showing the 5.56 x 45 mm bullets of the twenty-five round clip. Tilting the clip, the bullets fell like rocks against the carpet floor.

"A miracle, indeed," She threw the empty clip and sat the FAMAS gently near it. Her eyes glanced right at Snake again hoping for some type of reaction. When he gave her none her playful nature subsided into the same cold demeanor as his.

Her skinny yet strong legs slowly dragged her body towards him paying no mind to Snake's pistol, "I was transferred here as part of Foxhound's squad to safely escort the weapons for the Metal Gear project."

Angel's body was athletically fit but her position felt awkward. Her chubby cheeks reflected the lights of ceiling with a creamy glow showing him the crystal pink scar on the woman's right cheek. Its jagged, deep appearance gave the impression of a wound created by a knife; a short, but sharp-edged military knife to be exact. From its pink color, he determined that the scar was maybe ten to eleven years old.

"Are you part of the Next Generation Special Forces?" Snake kept his hand on the handle of the holstered SOCOM.

"No…I'm just a regular old soldier here," she rubbed her right cheek hiding her scar from Snake's cold stare, "Well, that is until Foxhound turned rogue. I guess they grew tired of being puppets on a string."

"What happened here?"

"Well, I guess you already know about Metal Gear Rex from the Darpa Chief and President Baker." She paced back and forth with her hand scratching her small dimpled chin. "So that info is pretty redundant. So let me just tell you what happened in my words. I was here from the very beginning."

Snake's hands eased from the grip of his SOCOMsensingno immediate danger from this woman. He listened as Angel's voice carried through the walls, "Well, I was in the underground maintenance base with two other guards watching the scientists put the finishing touches on Rex."

_She was staring at Metal Gear Rex from the bullet-proof glass of the Control Room. Its armaments were still being melded on the different tones of silver that colored the doomsday machine._

"_Magnificent, isn't it?"_

_Her concentration was broken from the glaring glass as a blonde man wearing a trench coat stood at the doorway._

"_Only magnificent to the wielder." Angel leaned against the PAL computers. "Weapons of mass destruction don't attract me. This weapon is dangerous to have especially in the world we live in now."_

"_You know politicians." _

_He walked forward and placed a hand on her shoulder. Coldly, she shrugged it off._

"_When were you going to tell me about the nuclear weapon's capability?"_

"_I know how sensitive the subject matter is to you__,__" The man still held his charming smile._

"_Besides, time has been in a bind lately."_

"_So, no time to tell your comrades.__,__" She turned around giving the man the coldest glare she could.__,__ "Or is it that you don't trust me?"_

_The man chuckled as he grabbed the woman's wrist__,__. "I trust you, Angel. You are a very useful woman…" Angel harshly released herself from his grip._

"_Do not patronize me, Liquid."_

_Angel and Liquid looked at each other's eyes, staring down, seeing who would budge first. It was a test of wills. A ringing forced Liquid to turn away. His hand slid through his pockets pulling out a cellphone._

"_Raven, is it time?"_

"_Good." His pleased voice caused Angel to shake. "Make sure the Darpa Chief and Baker are taken care of. Order the scientists except for that engineer to meet me in the canyon. Yes, bring the unit here."_

_Liquid snapped the lid of the phone and placed it back into his pocket._

"_Liquid, what are you planning?"_

"_Are you loyal to me?" Liquid turned his head._

"_Of course."_

"_Stay that way." His eyes darkened as his voice turned venomous. "It will break my heart if you betray me."_

"We were ordered to escort the scientists back into their rooms," Angel said, tearing her eyes from Snake, "That's when everything went wrong. Sounds of thunder filled the air. The scientists were scared to death. As we crossed through the snow of the canyon, a squad of the genome army ordered us to head back to the hangar. I don't know what happened to the scientists after that."

"They're dead."

Snake blunt statement seemed to blow the wind from Angel's chest. She heaved in shock," All of them?!"

Snake just stood still as Angel's face grew paler, though her face was already as white as a sheep, "They were killed by a member of Foxhound."

"I'm sorry," Angel apologized, as she tried to keep her chest from bursting out.

"Anyway, I heard that Metal Gear is ready to launch. Liquid, though, has put a halt to it."

"Because of the deadline?"

"No…because of the nuclear device."

Snake remembered Otacon talking about ArmsTech's co-developers designing a new type of warhead, "What about the nuclear device?"

"I heard rumors that it's a stealth weapon."

"Stealth?"

"Yeah," Angel twined her fingers together. "A nuclear warhead that can't be intercepted by radar or other equipment."

"What?" Snake's eyes twitched. A nuke that can't be seen through electronic equipment was a nightmare to the world. Angered, Snake gritted his teeth knowing full well that the Colonel knew this all along.

"It's not that shocking when you think about."

Angel stepped forward timidly looking directly at his eyes but turned away, "Armstech claimed bankruptcy two years ago and needed something to get them higher in the military food chain. The Pentagon gave them their answer."

Her back turned staring at the unconscious soldiers.

"All you need is a desperate businessman who's willing to bend the law, young and naive scientists with energy to spare, and …"

Angel sighed tirelessly, "A unit of hardened veterans and soldiers with digitalized genes of a 20th century soldier. That's a good excuse, isn't?"

"The training exercises…"

Angel nodded her head, "Exactly. Anything that happens here was already marked by us…I mean Foxhound. Did you know Foxhound was investigated twice six months ago?"

"No."

Angel's child-like face glowed red with rage and sorrow, "Yes, Foxhound was investigated for illegally hacking into government files for gene therapy."

"You mean they were planning on making their own gene experiments."

"They already have their research from the Cyborg Ninja. There's another reason which I haven't found out…yet. I'm just glad Naomi is all right."

"Naomi?"

"I don't know where she is now, but I hope where ever she is, she is all right. "

"Anyway, Liquid is having a field day with the nuclear weapon, but I also heard there is another reason why he hasn't unleashed Armageddon ." Angel intently stared at Snake. "You."

"Why me?"

Angel's face cringed in thought. "You're twins, right?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know what's going on, do you?"

Snake just stared at her. Angel fidgeted as she looked at Snake's pistol which Snake's hand was still hovering over. "Liquid is a child screaming for attention, which his murderous madman of father deprived him of…" Angel's blue eyes stared down on the cold, blue floor, "Bastard."

"Who is Liquid?"

"Boy! You ask a lot of questions," Angel snickered.

"Liquid is your normal man who has family problems."

"What is he after?"

"What he can't have," Angel vaguely stated, "Now, the rest you have to find on your own."

A giggle seeped from the woman as she skipped towards the elevator with a melody that Snake couldn't hear. She seemed so surreal as she stood under the burning lights of the elevator. "Come on, Snake. Meryl's waiting for you."

Ignoring the fact that he never introduced himself, Snake felt pulled into the elevator, "How do you know about Meryl?"

Standing in the elevator, Angel barked lightly, "Oh! Questions! Questions! You love to be so dominant...now get your butt in here so you can save the world."

Unaffected by her statement, Snake entered the elevator. As the doors closed and the car jolted, Snake eyed the giddy woman beside him. During their whole conversation, he knew that the woman was hiding something, especially when she was telling her side of the story. It all seemed fishy and this childish persona of hers really annoyed him.

"Snake," Campbell whispered into his ear. "It seems you made a new friend."

"Yeah." Snake eyed the woman who seemed intent on staring at his body when he was not looking.

"Snake, could she be the Pentagon agent that Baker was talking about?"

"I don't know but I think I know the answer to who has been saving me."

"She's the one that saved you from the nerve gas? Are you sure?"

"The blonde hair and cute face gave it away."

"Well, I guess there are such things as angels," Naomi mused with a slight smile but in a split second, it turned critical, "I don't really see her as a threat. Why were you so hesitant?"

"She is hiding something."

Naomi thought the idea seemed foolish. "She seemed innocent to me and if she held any ill will, why would she help you?"

"Why are you so protect of her, Naomi," came another voice. Master Miller's glaring glasses shone through. His question caught Naomi by surprise causing her to stutter for moment.

"I'm not protecting her. I'm just saying that she may be as she seems."

"No one is innocent on the battlefield. She is either a fool or a liar."

Naomi let out a irritated sigh as she disappeared from the screen.

"One or the other she seemed to know a lot of classified intel," Miller continued with a hint of forceness after Naomi ended her transmission.

"I was looking her up as you two were conversing."

"What did you find?"

Master clicked his tongue in distress, "Nothing, Snake."

"Nothing?" Snake frowned.

"There's a file on her but every time I access it, my computer gets an error message like someone is intentionally blocking me. I'll keep on trying though."

Snake groaned in frustration, "Let me know if you find anything, Master."

"We will keep you posted. In any case, Snake…watch yourself." Campbell wiped his forehead with his forehand trying to hide a couple sweat droplets."

Snake veered his head sharply at Angel when he noticed that she inched closer to him.

"I take it you don't trust me." Angel arched her shoulders towards him in a innocent way. Her eyes twinkled with curiosity as she blinked into his eyes almost seeing through them.

"I don't blame ya. I trusted Foxhound and look where I am…huh huh."

Snake awkwardly flinched. Angel seemed persistent in conversation as the elevator moved up, and he wasn't in the mood for small talk. When Angel got the picture, she shut her mouth muttering something about "talking to a wall."

The elevator chimed and its doors let out a cold breeze. A melody in the background was playing in a soft yet reverberating tone.

"Well, you go meet your friend," She recklessly jumped forward opposite of Snake's cautious step. Angel directed his eyes towards the girls' bathroom.

"I'll wait for you guys in the Commander's Room…" She stepped back as Snake's eyes were still glued to the girls' bathroom. "…so Liquid's gang doesn't try to ambush you again. I'll update you. My frequency is 140.77. Okay, bye bye!"

Snake turned around to see the empty space where the foolish woman once stood.

"_She's a talker," _he muttered as he slowly moved towards the bathroom entrance. The door didn't budge, suggesting to him it was locked. A mumbled commotion alerted him to the silver door across the hallway. As it opened, he hid himself in the dark corner pitting his back against a brown marble pillar.

"Where is the PSG-1?" Snake peeked out of his hiding spot and saw two guards entered the hallway.

"It was there where I left it," the guard with his back turned said, shaking his head., "I'll go check again but I know I couldn't have misplaced it."

"Let's double check the area," both guards entered back into the mini room behind them. As the doors closed so swiftly, so did they open again. A guard ambled towards the men's bathroom. Snake noticed the guard's strange walk. His hips were swaying back forth and his little feet walked overtop of each other.

The guard switched directions and Snake's guess was right. He entered the women's bathroom. Waiting for a few seconds, he entered, glad that the door was unlocked.

The bathroom was very clean and it was clear that it wasn't used as often as the men's room was. The three brown stalls were gleaming metal as the sinks near them were pure white against dark marble walls.

Taking out his pistol, he checked the floor to see no feet popping out underneath any of the stalls. He knew she was here so he decided to check each stall one at a time. There was nothing from the first two. Straightening his position, his arm reached towards the third one ready for anything. As he slammed the door opened, he noticed a green uniform clumsily lying on the toilet seat.

His back stiffened when he heard the cock of a rifle. "Don't move!"

Raising his arms in the air, the voice behind him chuckled. "That's the second time I was able to sneak up on the legendary Solid Snake."

Slowly, he turned around to see a woman with short but puffy red hair in nothing but her underwear. He could have thought of a much worse scenario.

* * *

**Snake's a perv. HeeHee! Though Snake seems to have second thoughts on Angel. Is she acting like a child to cover something up or is it something else? And why is Naomi defending her?**

**Questions! Questions! Oh well, stay tuned for my next chapter titled "Battle of the Minds Part One!"**


	26. Enter Mantis Part I

**The Psycho Mantis battle was the most weridest yet exciting battle I ever had in a video game boss battle. I want to give thanks to everyone who reviewed this story. You guys are the reason I'm continuing to write(also for many other reasons as well *wink*)**

* * *

Enter Mantis Part 1

Entering the girls' bathroom gave her a sigh of relief. It was a very quiet area and didn't carry that stupid melody that's being playing in her head ever since she first entered the 1st basement. The melody created a crashing voice towards her skull. It was getting hard to think but her forehead turned cold.

"_That's better. Now, maybe my headache will go away."_

The bathroom stalls surprising were clean and new but her nose twitched to the smell of blood. That smell of blood retched her stomach tight in a knot. The mirrors above the sink reflected her disguise towards her eyes. She stared at herself noticing how the tight her pants were around the bottom. As she looked at her self, she sharply turned away with disgust. She went to the farthest stall and closed the door. She laid the FAMAS against the wooden wall and pulled the sleeves of the green uniform. Smell of blood reeked from the cloth of the disguise. In haste, she tore the rest of her costume off shredding the blood off her skin. The desert eagle banged against the toilet making a uncomfortable, loud sound.

"_Shit. I forgot I had that."_

Clearing the desert eagle delicately, her head swayed in awareness of the bathroom door opening with footsteps silently creeping. She switched the eagle with the FAMAS and tried to analyze what she should do. The boots echoed as wood cracked and boomed against metal. "_Damn, that's Snake!"_

"_Think. Meryl. Think."_

Looking up at the high ceiling, an idea illuminated the smile across her cheeks. Ignoring the tear of fabric as she stood on the toilet. Her baggy pants rippled and made too much noise to her irritation . Flipping the buckle of her belt, she, in a hurray, dropped her green pants exposing her tanless legs and feet. As she heard the same crack of wood, her eyes spotted dark hair scanning the stall next to her. She kept a firm grip on her FAMAS as she slipped through the open crack just as he opened the last stall. Her bare feet scurried as her arms raised the barrel of her rifle against the back of the man who she has looked up to ever since she was eight years old.

"Don't move!"

Her confidence boosted as the man raised his arms in surrender, "That's the second time I was able to sneak up on the legendary Solid Snake."

She lowered her weapon and stepped back to let the legend really see her. This is the first time that they saw each other in person. Talking though a codec was way different from real actual contact. It was easier to hide your emotions but now it took her an extra effort to keep her from showing any. Trying to remember all the training she had, she tried to erase them.

"You're Meryl."

Snake's emerald eyes grew little. Was it surprise?

"There's no way you can disguise yourself as a man for long."

"What do you mean?"

Meryl noticed his eyes wandering down every square inch of her body. What was it? He looked like he hasn't seen a woman in a long time.

"Men aren't supposed to be in here."

"I had no idea," he walked away from her, "you were so feminine."

"There's no time to try to hit on me, Snake. It's a waste of time. When I joined up, they gave me psychotherapy to destroy my interest in men."

"Same smart mouth. You're Meryl, all right. Are you hurt?"

The question seemed more automatic than pure concern, "Not yet. After all, I was disguised as a Genome soldier."

"Why did you change? You be better off dressed like them."

"I got tired of disguising myself."

That really wasn't the real reason. All the sweat and blood she had gathered from the stench in the air covered her disguise to the point of suffocation. She rather be naked than wearing clothes that smell like that.

"What's that?"

Snake was staring at her right arm which carried the stamp of her determination and will. The Foxhound tattoo crafted a cartoonish Fox holding a Beretta.

"Oh this! It's a paint tattoo. It's not real. I was a fan of Foxhound way back. When guys like you and my uncle were in it. Nothing like the gene therapy there is today."

She didn't really like the gene therapy that Foxhound has been using. A needle with predisposed genes of the greatest soldier, Big Boss. When she was training, she heard all kinds of rumors about all soldiers in the genome army. One was that they only had VR training of some kind of jungle setting then they are given a dose of those "soldier genes". They were given special treatment skipping all the psychotherapy training and several field exams that all regular soldiers had to contend with especially her. She didn't like the idea of special treatment so she never signed up for the Next Generation Special Forces. And as she stared at each one of them, she didn't see soldiers or heroes but video game players thinking that they were invincible.

"You guys were real heroes."

She said it so sincerely that she was surprised at Snake's stiff reply, "There are no heroes in war. The only heroes I know are either dead or in prison. One or the other."

"But Snake. You are a hero, aren't you?"

His green eyes gave off a weird vibe that made Meryl's heart lump in sadness.

"I'm just a man that's good with he does: Killing. There's no winning or losing for a mercenary. The only winners in war are the people."

"That's right and you fight for the people."

Snake shook his head, "I never fought for anyone but myself. I have no purpose in life. No ultimate goal."

"oh come on."

Meryl stared down at her bare feet in anguish and unbelief at how pessimistic Snake was. The legend Solid Snake saved so many people for the threat of Metal Gear and insurgents. Why does he feel like criminal?

"It's only when I'm cheating death on the battlefield, the time I feel truly alive."

Her mouth fell, "Seeing other people die makes you feel alive. Is there something you love more than fighting?"

Snake's cold stare forced her to narrow her eyes. Waiting for a response, she was ready to hit him but she repressed that violent act and gave in to submission. She was a rookie. What did she really know about war? Is it her place as a soldier to judge?

As she was about to ask another question, Snake's lips moved, "Why didn't you contact me?

"My codec was broken."

The rifle was getting her fingers sweaty. She didn't want to hold it any longer than she needed.

"Is that all?"

Meryl scoffed at the man's distrustful nature, as she walked past him "Should you just be happy we met up like this."

Neatly, she bent over to lay her FAMAS against the wall next to the sink, "Anyway, how did you recognize me in disguise?"

"I never forget a lady."

Snake stood near the mirrors staring at her, "So there is something you like about me, huh?"

"Yeah, you got a great butt."

Meryl smiled, "Oh I see. First, it's my eyes and now it's my butt."

She patted her butt and realized maybe she should put some clothes on, "What's next?"

"On the battlefield, you never think about what's next."

Taking her idea to account, she went back to the clothes she dumped in a hurry. She couldn't have the legendary Solid Snake be distracted by her great butt. All the compliments in the world and he comments on her butt.

"Where are you going?"

"Well, I can't have you be distracted by my butt all day. I better put some pants on."

"I could live with that distraction."

Meryl softly chuckled as she grabbed her green pants that dangled from the toilet seat. She buckled her belt and placed each black boot on her feet. Before leaving, she remembered where her Desert Eagle was and snatched it from its dirty spot. Chucking it down her pants back, she left the stall noticing Snake had an expression of annoyance mixed in disappointment.

"So Snake, how are the negotiations going?"

"Bad."

His blunt response didn't make her feel anymore comfortable about the situation, "So, it really is all up to you. Either we destroy Metal Gear or.."

"We use the PAL override card keys."

"Card keys," her hand dug into her chest grabbing the yellow card that felt warm between her fingers, "you mean this?"

"Where are the others? There should be three card keys."

"This is all I got."

Snake took the card and placed in a safe place, "Where could the other two be?"

"They must be some place."

"Alright, I'll go head towards the underground base."

"Take me too. I know this place better than you."

"You just slow me down. You don't have enough battle experience."

Snake was about to exit but Meryl's hand stopped him from moving an inch. Her eyes pleadingly wished him to change his mind, "I won't slow you down. I promise."

"What if you do?"

Without hesitation, Meryl spoke her answer, "Then you can shoot me."

Coldly, he slammed her arm from his shoulder breaking the physical contact, "I don't like to waste bullets."

In order to survive, she knew she had to let go. She stared at her body disgusted at her weak state. The mirror in front of her mockingly broken the bravado she shielded. Her conversation with Snake wasn't what she expected. Maybe being a soldier wasn't all fun and games as she saw it. Glancing back at Snake, she felt like a burden to him and realized how much was in stake. Sorrowfully, her eyes directed her to the mirror in front of her. Her arms scratched the surface of the pure white sink.

"Got it. I'll be careful. You know. I don't wear make-up like other women do. I hardly ever look at myself in the mirror. I always despised that kind of woman. I always dreamed of becoming a soldier, but I was wrong. It really wasn't my dream."

The day her father died. She never really thought of it until now. That was when she mindset was to become soldier, " My father was killed in action when I was younger."

"You wanted to follow in your father's footsteps?"

"I thought I was until today, but I finally understand."

She looked at her face which was covered in black filth probably from the balaclava's black color melting from her sweat. She straight up to see her whole figure seeing who she was: a woman.

"I was afraid of making my own decisions. Now, I really want to see this through to the end. I want to see who am I. I want to know what am I capable of…I want to know…"

Snake's full, strong stature loomed over her, "Take a good look. You won't be near mirrors for awhile. You should wash your face too."

Her hands smacked the black filth from her face, "Yeah."

"This isn't a training exercise. Our lives are depending on this. There are no heroes or heroines. You lose you die a dog's death."

She knew he was right. If she died now, no one would care. There was no sacrificial lamb needed here. Survival was the only thing to be thinking about right now. How foolish she was to think about heroes!

"Is that FAMAS functional?"

"It's out of ammo."

"Where did ya get that Desert Eagle?"

Meryl grabbed the handle and flashed towards his green eyes, "I got this from the leader of terrorists. He was holding it against me but I was fast enough to swipe this from his hands."

A feeling of happiness swept her feet as she position the gun forward in a stance. The silver lining reflected the lights with a stringing glow of fire, "It's a .50 caliber Action Express."

"Is that gun a little big for a girl."

Meryl's hand limped, "Now, you treat me like a woman?"

Snake held out his .45 pistol which was very short compared to hers, "Come on. Use my .45."

Checking her ammo, she realized she had enough for now, "Look. I handle a gun like this since I was eight years old. I'm more comfortable with it than I am with a bra."

She cocked the gun and forced it to the side, "Before I forget, here."

Snake watched as her tiny fingers again entered inside her chest area pulling out a white card, "The door to the Commander's room is security level five, this will open it. The overland route is block by glaciers"

As he took the card from her hands, Meryl brought her weapon of choice forwarded, "I know this place better than you. I'll be pointman. Follow me."

As she was about to leave, she realized how thoughtless she was about her other comrade, "So I believe you have met Angel, haven't you?"

"Yeah…" his long pause seemed little from what she hoped for, "she's waiting for us in the Commander's Room."

Meryl exited the bathroom noticing that no guards were in sight. She crank her neck signaling for Snake to follow her.

'What happened to the music?"

"Follow me, Snake."

Her right foot begun to descend farther towards the hall when suddenly Snake called to her.

"Hold up, Meryl."

Snake placed two fingers behind his ears and she saw him turn around with the monitor showing a man wearing glasses. She couldn't tell who it was.

"Snake, I found some information about our mystery woman."

"Go ahead, Master."

"There is nothing about her personally but it does talk about her military exploits."

Master cleared his throat, "It seems she joined the CIA for a year and became part of their paramilitaries. But it says that she was dismissed because of fabrication."

'What did she lied about?"

"Her age," Master posted a picture on the monitor. It was a much younger photo of Angel who was wearing a watery camouflage. Her hair was shorter and there was no scar on her right cheek. Trees and branches made the pic gritty and muddy.

"She was too young but they decided to keep her."

"Why?"

"Doesn't say but it says that she got a psychological evaluation. After that evaluation, they sent her to Foxhound in request of their commander of that time which was Big Boss."

"Why did Big Boss request her?"

"I don't know. When she took her exams, she failed miserably."

"Failed?"

"She was too weak and couldn't handle the stress of battle. But Big Boss still kept her until her unit was established."

"Her unit?"

"I have to open a separate file for that," Master's glasses brightly flashed in frustration as a beeping sound glared.

"Damn, someone is persistent in blocking me access. It's going to take me awhile."

"Okay, keep me informed."

His codec rung in a hurry. He noticed the frequency, "Angel, what is it?"

Her puppy, blue eyes wandered ever corner of the room, "Snake, is everything well on your end?"

"I hooked up with Meryl with no problems. What's wrong?"

"Nothing…noth…" her forehead was sweating heavily.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm just burning up. Snake, can I ask you a question?"

'What is it?"

"Do you hear a melody playing?"

He remember a melody playing when he first got here. As he remembered every note, his head started to form a headache, "It's not playing anymore."

"It's very strong here. Too hard to concentrate.," her voice sounded strained.

"Meryl and I are headed towards the Commander's Room."

"No! Stay out of here. It's not safe…Oh my go…" a flash of purple caused his codec to static.

"Angel!"

Blasts of gun fires and static furies of unknown nature echoed out in the hallway illuminating from the Commander's Room. Meryl's face looked frightened.

"What's going on?"

"Let's find out."

Snake headed towards the dark brown double doors barricading the noises of despair. The doors opened Meryl matched his speed as she too entered. He could hear the breathing heaving from her chest. She was worried about Angel. He knew that but she was scared of what lied ahead. She tried to act brave but he saw her eyes in the bathroom. Innocent like a child unaware of the world they are growing in. Even after killing those soldiers back at the holding cells, her eyes weren't covered by blood like his. He still wished that she would have stayed out of his way but he couldn't tell her what to do. It was her choice.

Two head statues of possibly past scientists of extraordinary inventions stood at each side of the small hallway. Snake heard a gunshot…two gunshots then a firecracker boomed against the cracks of the door that laid ahead of him. Meryl walked past him in haste.

"Come on, let's help…"

A thumping sound echoed against her skull as she grabbed her forehead in agony. Snake could heard the grunts she tried to contain.

"Meryl?"

Snake watched as Meryl's hands dug inside her head, "My head! It hurts."

"What's wrong?"

She was on her knees her arms still agonizing from some unseen pain. Snake stepped towards her. One of her arms straightened out, "Don't come here, Snake!"

He couldn't do anything but watch as Meryl stood up. Her body waved back and forth like a doll getting shaken by a little girl.

Snake saw a fog, crazed stare in her hazelnut eyes, "I'm fine. Okay, Let's go."

Meryl's voice was strange. It sounded like she was wearing something on her face. Every word echoed out of her mouth. Her legs kicked each other as she walked past Snake. Her body was limp like a puppet waiting for its strings to be pulled. Dragging her feet against the carpet like she had no control over herself. As her body reshaped itself, she turned around with the same crazed stare with her back against the door on the other side.

"Come on, Mr. Foxhound. The commander is waiting," Meryl's body took a bow for Snake. Something was wrong but he had no choice but to go inside the room. The room collided with the hallway. It's black marble floor matched the oak wood walls and wooden desk that was above a red-yellow carpet. Nothing of the room was more interesting than what laid in the center of the room in a ocean of tears.

"Angel!"

Her hands were over her white ears ignoring his yell of confirmation. Snake ran towards her and prepared to snap her out of the world that was tormenting her. As his fingers touched her shoulder, she flinched right away and scurried to get away from him. Her head rammed against the table that held a hologram of some sort of tower. But the pain that throbbed the back of her head didn't keep her eyes from widening in horror.

Snake was surprised at the woman's fright, "Angel…"

"Nooo." Angel struggled like a baby experiencing fit, "you came to hurt me!"

Snake looked for support from Meryl but her mind seemed to be in a different place.

"Angel, snap out of it!"

Angel's breathing was becoming more erratic as he moved towards her, "Stand back. Don't come any closer."

She twisted her body into a fetal position again, "You always hurt me."

Her knees squished her cheeks. Golden locks of hair trickled her face. Snake bent down and looked at her. She didn't flinch anymore and suddenly she took a deep breath.

"Snake, what's going on?"

Unsure of what's happening himself, he just helped Angel stand up on her two feet.

"Forget about her."

In unison, they both stared at Meryl whose eyes held that same crazed look. The Desert Eagle pointed towards them.

The menacing voice crept Meryl's lips into a seductive smile, "I'm more your type."

"Meryl, this isn't you."

Snake didn't like the way Meryl's gun was staring at Angel. He noticed a glint of jealousy in her eyes.

"He's mine!"

Snake's body reacted with instinct, "Angel, get down."

He pushed her to the ground keeping hold of her hips. A bullet scrapped the black marble floor close to Angel's body. Standing up, Snake realized the glint of jealousy changed to a primitive face of lust. Meryl dropped her gun and slithered towards him purring

The warmth of her body heated his own as she grabbed him in a tight hug of possession. Her fingers traced the lines of his muscles on his stomach and arms. Snake watched as her body spun around him touching his shoulders. She caressed the ends of his sharp, dark hair in enjoyment as her face dangerously grew closer.

"How long has it been since you ever kissed a woman, Snake?"

"Meryl, what's got into you?"

Her chilly breath laughed mockingly, "Mmmm. How long has it been since you ever got close…to a woman."

"Meryl, this is not like you."

She moaned as her lips rubbed against his own in hunger. Snake realized what was about to happen but it happened too fast for him to stop. Their lips met with electricity.

He had to pull away. He had to. This wasn't Meryl kissing him and yet for some odd reason, he knew Meryl better than this. Snake pushed her away with full force, "Snap out of it, Meryl!"

Hysterical laughter cracked the air but then was quickly changed into pained grunts. She was holding her head again, "Get out of my head!"

The desert eagle on the ground slipped between her fingers as tears dropped from her eyes to the floor creating a puddle.

"Couldn't enjoy a simple token of affection, can you?"

"Snake, look out!"

Angel shouted. The Desert Eagle produced a flaming spike that spun towards Snake. He rolled over avoiding the bullet. Before she could pull the trigger again, Snake frantically grabbed the silver eagle and punched Meryl square in the face.

The fist was hard enough to make Meryl fall to the ground. A bruise was forming against her right cheek. His blue gloves catched some of her salty tears…or was that her spit? Angel, who was next to him, check to make sure she was okay. Angel flashed a shout of anger.

"All right! Mantis, enough of these games. Show yourself!"

An invisible image blinked rapidly above the Commander's desk, "I'm here!"

Snake pulled out his SOCOM and aimed at the man who was wearing a sleeveless leather uniform with straps that wrapped around his arms and legs. His face wore a gas mask. From what he could tell, the man was pale like death and bald.

"I'm the most powerful practioner of psychokinesis and telepathy in the world. I am…"

The man crank his neck, "Psycho Mantis!"

Angel walked towards Mantis unafraid as Snake followed her. Snake already didn't like this guy, "Optic camo. I hope that's not your only trick."

"You doubt my power?"

Mantis raised his arms. The room vibrated causing Angel to be lifted up in the air. She frantically was flailing her arms and legs. Mantis laughed as he threw her behind him. The three portarits of famous men behind her crashed into her back. Her position against the wall was like a crucifix.

"What do you think now?"

Mantis pushed his hands forward towards Angel. She screamed as her back was getting crashed between the hard wooden walls and Mantis's power.

With a well calculated shot, Snake could have Mantis dead in a heartbeat but the question is will Angel survive as well?

"That won't be a good idea," Mantis took his gaze away from Angel. He smiled as Snake realized that Mantis knew what he was referring to.

"She will die as well. And as I well know, you hate to be responsible for the death of an innocent.

"Snake, shoot him. You have no choice."

Angel grunted trying to release herself from Mantis's power but to no avail.

"I want no interference from you!"

Mantis grabbed her neck and harshly twisted it, "Be a good girl and stay put."

Angel's head went limp and her body fell on the ground.

"Now, let me show you some more tricks."

Red balls of flames hovered over Mantis palms. Mantis clapped his hands together making the flames burst in a big flame. As his two hands held the flame of death, Mantis slapped a flame towards his direction.

Snake grunted as the flame hit him square in the chest. The power of its fire caused him to twirl. Fire consumed the room penetrating the walls of wood. Snake shook uncontrollably at the sight of fire. The fire woke up sometime inside him. As he glared at the flame dancing at the palm of his hand, a face stared right back at him. A face that taunted with his smile…his laugh…his very existence.

"I live in you!"

The face of Big Boss…his one eye mockingly blinking at Snake. He blew the flame to make it disappear but it didn't and the man that haunts him laughed at his feeble attempt to wash his soul of war.

"I live in you!"

Mantis chuckled, "Look at the flames of death. Watch as they consume your soul just like the bullets you used to kill your victims."

Screams throbbed against the walls. It was voices of different languages…cultures…gender… and age.

"How many people did you kill? Did you feel anything from taking a life from another or is killing something you enjoy?"

The thought gave him a bad taste, "What do you mean?"

Mantis remained silent, dancing in the silence of the flames, "You enjoy killing don't you?"

Remaining silent, Snake tried to hollow the screams that was stabbing his brain. He didn't want to hear them. Not now. Not ever. They haunt in his dreams. Why do they keep coming back?

Realization kicked in as Mantis was about to develop a blow, the flames vanished as he tried to dodge Mantis's backhand punch. But Mantis knew where he was. The jab caused his eyes to blur. As he tried to get the blur out, Mantis kept disappearing in different spots…in different times. Throwing furniture…chairs…stools…and the picture frames are him in every direction. Tumbling over them at every minute…he still couldn't land a finger or bullet at Mantis.

"Giving up, already?"

Snake tried to think what he had to do. Wait! Mantis depends on his thoughts. He can read minds…but what if the mind is separated from body. Mantis reappeared in front of him probably laughing at his suggestion.

"That's entirely impossible! You have to do better than that."

"Let's just see!"

Snake shot all around the room. Mantis dodged every one of his bullets. Absentmindedly, Snake threw a chair at Mantis…but still Mantis saw it coming.

"_Damn, this isn't working either."_

His codec beeped in his ears. Naomi was on the monitor but he was too busy dodging the flying debris.

"Snake! Do you see two head statues in front of you?"

Snake humored her and saw them. The statures' heads were bandaged badly, "So what about them?"

"Mantis can't stand the sight of his own face. Maybe you can expose it."

Snake ran towards the one statue in front of the bookshelf in the upper left corner. Taking the bandage off, a craved, disfigured face appeared. He heard a shout of despair coming from Mantis. Snake ran across and did the same thing to the another one. Mantis placed his leather hands on his orange lens in agony.

"No! Don't make me look at myself! No!"

Mantis swung above Meryl's unconscious body. His breathing snorted in anger, "Well, I know your weak point too!"

Mantis lifted Meryl into a standing position with her gun still in her hand. Her eyes magically opened in fright as her body felt like a rock. His heart pumped faster as the psycho motioned his hand towards his temple making an L with his index finger and thumb. Dugging his index finger further deep in his temple, the arm that held the Desert Eagle mimicked the motions making Meryl scream.

"Stop, Meryl!"

She struggled to keep the gun from dugging in her skull twisting and turning her temple bone. The bruise on her cheek had streams of water that was leaking from her eyes. To her this was the end, she tried to keep her eyes from staring at Snake.

"_I wasn't supposed to be a burden. I wanted to be a soldier."_

Mantis forced her chin upwards darting her hazelnut eyes towards Snake's quivering, emerald eyes of panic and dread.

"_His cold eyes…they are so beautiful. I don't want to look at them! They are in pain!"_

"Sn…Snake."

The words came out weak and pathetic as her slender finger squeezed the trigger a little. She still tried to resist the temptation of losing her soul. Snake's hand reached out towards her. His face in pure shock. Water splashed her eyes more of the thought of sorrow and regret that must be dancing around Snake's head as her Desert Eagle pushed her head towards hell. Her temple burned with blood.

"_This is the end!"_

As her finger pushed the trigger all the way , her eyes closed dreadfully as Snake's gruff voice shouted in despair.

"Noo!"

* * *

**Will Snake save Meryl? We know the answer to that question. Or do we?**

**Next Chp. Enter Mantis Part II**


	27. Enter Mantis Part II

**Well, here is part two! There is going to be a transition in point of view so watch out for that. Enjoy! I also want to thank again towards my readers and reviewers! **

* * *

Enter Mantis Part II

She screamed as the bullet slashed through part of her skin causing blood to burst into the air. The gun was slightly turned the opposite direction to the displeasure of the psychic. Snake's inwardly sighed. He was relieved that Meryl's aim was not as accurate as his. But that relief didn't last long. The perverse psychic's look of displeasure shifted rather quickly into a sickly snort. The strings of his twinkled fingers wiggled like tiny snakes hissing at the young woman whose face now sprinkled with blood spots from her thankful misfire.

"Well, if all else fails, try try again!"

Meryl's hand vibrated in agony. She was trying so hard to control her arm but the more she struggled, the more Mantis increased his control. As her gun retained its past position…Mantis squeezed his temple with a much faster fixation.

"Nooo!"

A flash of lightning made Snake's eyes shirk in horror. As the young rookie plopped on the ground with the sea of blood leaking from her brain, he ran and gathered her body bringing her young, innocent face as close he could towards his haggard face. The sweet warmth of her body changed into a dark, cold feeling. Her skin, which was already pale, became as white as paste. This couldn't be happening. Why did he freeze? He could have thrown a stun grenade or shoot the Desert Eagle out of her hands. Why did he freeze?

"Meryl…I'm sorry…"

Pushing her body tightly against his own, laughter roared from the twisted psychic who was still hovered over him.

"How many women have died in your arms?"

Meryl's limp body made him edged his head back and he yelled at the top of his lungs with burning rage. He was tired of all of this. Death. Fighting. This cycle of coming back to the battlefield. When he went to Alaska…he thought he could stay away from people. Live in exile with his fifty huskies…but looking at the death…the blood on his hands now. He couldn't protect a single life. Rocking Meryl's lifeless body, his failure to protect his friend's niece…yes…even if the Colonel was in question especially all the truth he was holding back, he was still his friend. Now, she was nothing more than an empty shell. Just like him!

Her whole body felt sore above the red-yellow carpet. Grabbing the side edge of the desk next to her, she tried to overcome the numb feeling of her legs. Her flat heel boots slipped and slid against the carpet like it was glass as she tried to compose herself. Her vision wasn't 20/20 either. The blurry spots on her sapphire eyes irritated her. The whole room felt silent like she was the only one in the room but from the roaring chuckles of sinister and malice, she knew that wasn't true.

"_Wake up, Angel. Wake up."_

She opened and closed her eyes gently yet rapidly. Focusing at the center of the room using the desk as leverage, she squinted at the floating figure across a man on his knees. A man she wouldn't expect to see on his knees. But there was a third figure. Her face changed into horror at the sight of one of the people she had grew attached to ever since she met her…Meryl holding a gun to her head. Remaining silent, Angel picked herself up on top of the desk. Mantis was oblivious to her which made her guess that sadist was up to his old psychic tricks. Snake was still on his knees frozen like ice. A face of fear was worn on his usually expressionless face. She didn't know what to do. The most experience warrior here was Solid Snake and he was out of it. Why did it always have to reside with her? The burden of making life or death decisions was always her forte. She guessed God thought she could handle it. Well, God always knows so she just had to have faith.

"_Sometimes it's better to act before thinking."_

Yes…that always saved her butt when in these types of situations. That quote from her stepfather. That sly old fox knew what he was doing. He was a lovable teddy bear to her. So gentle but sometimes a jackass but still a teddy bear. His expressive eyes flashed in her head as she briskly realized it was time for action not nostalgia. In the back of her mind, though, she wished he was here. Why did he have to go insane?

She leaped up in the air grabbing the hovering maniac. The man cursed as her body pounded his scrawny figure. She hugged the man to keep herself level. His leather hands pushed back against her face bending her spine in an uncomfortable position.

"How dare you interfere?"

"Mantis, you can still save yourself."

The air beneath her feet gusted like a wind in hurricane lifting her high up into the air. Realizing what Mantis was doing, she grabbed the gas mask. Leather hands wrapped around both of her wrists burning them but she fought the urge to let go. Snake was still in some trance as she stared back at him and Meryl, who was on the ground blood still dripping from her wound. Maybe if she took off the mask, that will cause some type of distraction. Maybe a small one but…maybe just enough. The wind began to pick up like Mantis knew what she was thinking. She screamed ferociously knowing letting go would mean her death. Pulling harder on the mask, the velcro could be heard ripping and tearing from its secure fastener. Pressure was building up. Gobs of sweat made it difficult for her hands to keep hold. She just needed a few more seconds…

With one last exert of strength, she pulled the mask off of him. Her body made a thud sound against the black marble floor as Mantis wailed in panic. Quick as a blade, Mantis raged towards Angel. Reaching crazily out for his protection, she swapped her feet under his figure and tripped him. His chin hit the arm of the couch. Crawling away with the gas mask still at her sweaty hand, Angel tried to reach the mirror that hung next to the bookcase in front of her. Screaming in primal rage, Mantis grabbed her legs trying to pull her close to him. Struggling to no end, Angel banged her fist.

"Snake! Meryl! Help me. If you can hear my voice, please!"

Slithering like a snake, her spiritual strength seemed to be draining. This can't happen. She needed more time. All she could do was pray or she will die.

"_Oh Lord in Heaven, please give me the strength to fight this man at least until I get close to that mirror."_

"Praying won't help you."

Angel chuckled under her strain, "Oh yeah than why am I winning?"

Her eyes grew blurry again. She could feel a headache forming. Edging closer, she could taste victory as the mirror laid attached above her.

"_Thank you, God. You always watch over me."_

Taking in one breath, she kicked some random part of Mantis that her leg could strike. Tipping the mirror down, she threw the mask to the side and turned the mirror over as Mantis's laid on top of her with some primal instinct. The glare of the glass blinded him forcing his hands towards his crazed eyes. Angel, with as much flexibility as possible, kicked the side of his head flipping him over.

Heavy breaths burned into her lungs as her nose wheezed with every sniff of oxygen. After gaining some more oxygen into her lungs, she ran towards Snake shaking him desperately.

"Come on! Snake, snap out of it!"

His emerald eyes glinted but still no life in them. So blank and bland. He was locked back into a world so terribly real. She slapped him with her sore muscles, yelling at him. Whatever horrors he was experiencing, he needs to wake up from it or be consumed by them.

"Snap out of it, soldier!"

Suddenly, Snake felt a pull on his heart. At first, he thought his heart was just quaking to the fact of Meryl's death but then it became stronger. His arms were being tugged harshly. It felt like nails being pulled from his skin slowly but not as painful. He could make out a recognizable face staring at him with desperation. At first, he thought he was becoming delusional. Her eyes pleaded with him as her blond hair, tangled and sweaty, glued itself to her cheeks showing exhaustion.

"Angel…"

Her mouth was moving but no sound escaped her thin lips. This wasn't real. He felt weight being lifted off his body as Meryl's body was no longer on him. Feeling the ground with his hands…something wasn't right. His heart pumped faster and faster like blood hasn't been circulating in his veins for a day.

"Snake, wake up!"

He finally could hear her smooth voice cracking as water peered through the corners of her eyes. It was sweat dripping streams down her cheeks. Feeling a surge of movement towards his body, he noticed Meryl's unconscious body behind the sweaty female. Blood creasing from her temple but not like a gunshot wound he saw earlier. More like a gash that Mantis gave her in his first attempt.

"I still can't move."

Angel laughed but it was short as Mantis yelled warily. He stumbled as he walked closer to her with a look of a predator cornering his prey. Unaware, Angel placed her hand over his, moving over his pistol. Slowly, he caught the handle and the trigger as she put pressure on his hand and finger. They both upholstered the SOCOM and slowly tilted it towards the hungry, crazed Mantis who was stalking them.

Snake couldn't pull the trigger because his finger was numb so he half-expectedly waited for Angel to dig into it. No bullet came out of the gun.

"Shoot!"

He yelled in her ear as Angel's hand shivered. Mantis was getting closer and closer to them. He jiggled her small hands getting her attention forcefully. She was hesitating like Meryl did back in the holding cells when three soldiers were ready to fire at them. But Meryl eventually cooperated. Angel was a different story. It was like she didn't want to kill Mantis for some odd reason.

As Mantis was about to a strike a powerful mind blow, a fire breathed out of the gun's barrel and hit the psychic square in between the stomach and heart. Lowering the pistol, Mantis staggered towards Angel still. Snake jiggled the weapon as he could feel his fingers again. He was about to shoot Mantis in the head.

"Wait."

Her thumb obscured the hole of the gun barrel making Snake release his finger from the trigger. Mantis fell on his knees glancing at Angel. Eyes of golden crystals secretly moved Angel from his sights. Snake couldn't understand what Mantis was up to as his knees scooped towards him.

Golden eyes widen with intensity. Mantis dug his pointy fingers into Snake's skull creating a mind meld of some sort.

"Can you hear me, Snake?"

"Get out of my head!"

"Don't worry. I'm done fighting just like you are."

Snake grunted and resisted Mantis's mind meld.

"Don't resist. I'm trying to show you."

Her head felt like a ton of bricks. Throbbing pain on the side of her head made her grimace as her hand touched it. She bought the hand to her face to see pools of blood on her fingers. Rubbing the blood off her hands as she sat up, anxiety kicked in to see Mantis holding furiously Snake's head while Angel was watching intently. Noticing that the Desert Eagle was still in her grasp, she took aim at Mantis…ready to took that man's life for humiliating her and causing Snake pain. Licking her lips, she squeezed the trigger only to have her wrist up in the air. The bullet rocketing to the ceiling as Angel gave Meryl a grave look.

"Think before you act. Snake is in a middle of a mind meld. If you would have killed Mantis, you would have turned Snake into a vegetable."

Meryl dumbfoundly hung her weapon to the side, "Mind meld?"

"Let's give them space."

Meryl suddenly felt oozy and caught the edge of a table in time. Angel helped Meryl sit on the couch as she sat opposite of her.

"First, let me find you a bandage for that cut."

She slowly surveyed the room now full of displaced furniture, knocked down chairs, stools and picture frames. Stomped her foot in frustration, she tried to improvise from what she already need. Feeling all around her uniform, she remember something she had caught earlier before meeting Meryl in the 1st basement. Hands patting every square inch, an idea popped in her head of where she may have hidden it. She opened one of the pockets attached to her loosely fitted belt and feathered out a long cloth. It was greenish in the light but looked gray in the dark of pocket.

"Here's a bandana."

Holding both ends, she tied it around Meryl's bloody gash and tightly fitted it around her head. Meryl flinched as she strengthen the knot making sure the blood flow will decrease.

"I got that along with my EZ gun."

Meryl nodded her head in gratitude as she sat down on the couch with Angel sitting across from her. Staring at the crazed lunatic, Meryl could still feel the lingering power of his control on her. Damn him. Making her kiss Snake like that….say those awful things that she kept inside for fear of a broken heart. The image of Snake's eyes as she kissed him will remained in her head like mocking laughter. A face of discontent and coldness. She enjoyed it…

'_Oh my God! I enjoyed it?"_

The heat them produced together as she kissed him in her brainwashed state. It was only for a short time but to her, it was pleasurably. The touch of his lips…her body tied to his like an inseparable lovers. Lovers? Who was she kidding? Snake was a loner…a legend even to this day. What would he want with a star struck wannabe? All these feelings seem to soar through her with anxiety. Her mind swelled with images of fantasy of him and her. Together. Living life. Damn it! What was wrong with her head? All she could think about was…she couldn't even say the word without puking in disgrace. That psychotherapy she had should have block all these feelings and thoughts.

She stormed her fist into the laminate wooden table causing a jolt of surprise from Angel from her short nap.

"I want to be a soldier!"

Angel placed her hand on her shoulder, "What's wrong?"

"That damn psychic played with my mind."

She scratched her red hair in annoyance, "It's bad enough. I'm a woman but to play with me like that. I just want to…"

She took a deep breath as Angel's face showed compassion and understanding, "Meryl, gender doesn't make a difference. I bet Snake was a bit hypnotize with Mantis's psychic powers as well."

That didn't make Meryl feel any better.

Angel smiled trying to lighten the mood, "You know…I remember a story that my stepfather told me about this strong-willed female soldier who could…"

A moaning sound attracted both women back towards the two men. Snake was holding his forehead as Mantis fell back. Meryl held her hands to her mouth when she saw how disfigured and ugly Mantis was without his gas mask.

"You and I…"

Mantis held a smile towards Snake not of happiness but of understanding, "We are the same…but you are worse. Compared to you, I'm not so bad."

Choking, Mantis switched his eyes towards Meryl, "I read her mind."

"Meryl's"

Snake eyed her when Mantis said her name.

"You have a large place in her heart."

Meryl blushed in embarrassment and kept her eyes away from Snake who looked at her in astonishment, "A large place?"

"Yes…a large place."

Mantis's chest started heaving as his body combusted into spasms, "I have a last request…My mask."

Angel picked up the mask from its position against the bookcase and grounded mirror. She gave Snake the gas mask. Mantis lifted his head as Snake slid the mask back on returning Mantis's voice to a mumbled yet echoing effect, "With my mask…I can finally die alone."

The bookcase to the right of Angel opened a walkway to a hidden door in the opposite side. Mantis chuckled, "This is the first time I've ever used my powers to help someone. You're right, Angel. It feels…nnice."

His head tilted and his chest ceased to breath. Mantis was gone from this world.

Snake took one last look at Mantis before finally moving towards the now exposed hidden walkway ignoring Meryl and her. Especially Meryl…he became more aloof now than ever. After all Mantis put Meryl and him through, you will think he would lend a shoulder towards the rookie. What an asshole. But what could she expect from a man who has isolated himself from the world for six years.

"Let's go, Meryl. Angel."

Taking her eyes off Snake, her eyes turned into sympathy as she noticed Meryl looking at the body of a man who exposed her hidden desires. It's terrible to see a young woman like Meryl be so…unveiling. Her hidden desires explored and humiliated by a sadistic psychic who wanted to see how far he could go. Destroying her mind…well…destroyed isn't the word she should use but messing it up. She could see through Meryl's eyes as she could only think of the right words to say for her weakness.

Meryl whispered, "I'm sorry."

"Meryl."

He acknowledged her with a slight attention. His back still turned.

"How can let Mantis control my mind like that."

The rookie's lips quivered.

"If you are going to doubt yourself, I'll leave you here."

Meryl shakily looked up at Snake's back, "I'm sorry."

"Never doubt yourself. Learn from it."

"You're right. I'm sorry I won't do it again."

"Snake…," her voice skipped as she tried to pick the right words to convey towards the mercenary.

"What is it?"

"What's your name? Your real name."

She knew how Snake will react. Years of experience with soldiers like him showed her veteran soldiers like his self would totally make anyone, who asked those questions, feel ridiculous and shame.

"A name means nothing on the battlefield."

"How old are you?"

"Old enough to know what death looks like."

"Any family."

"No…but I was raise by many people."

"Is there anyone you like?"

"I have never been interested in everyone else's life."

Rubbing her elbow, she gazed at the carpet below her.

"So you are alone."

Snake noticed her voice crack, "Other people just complicated my life. I don't like to get involved."

"You're a sad , lonely man."

"Let's get going."

Snake, without a second glance, moved into the darkness below with a more less confident Meryl and a very disappointed Angel. He could feel the scorn he was getting from Angel scotch his back. He didn't care. She could judge him all she wants but that still doesn't change the words he pulled out of his battle-hardened war warped mind towards Meryl. Feelings are easily hurt and for a long time, he just stopped caring. Still, his heart and lips tinkled. That kiss Meryl gave him under Mantis's control still etched in his brain. A small percentage of him wanted to acknowledge her but the experienced, soldier side told him to zip it and forget it. Meryl is just a comrade nothing more. He didn't have no feelings towards her in any way. But in his heart, it blasted blood in heated vindication.

"Snake, I found some more information about Angel."

Master Miller broke his thoughts gladly. No time to think about this. He had to move on to more important matters.

"Great. What is it, Master?"

"During Big Boss's command, she was a psychological counselor. She evaluated soldiers after missions and before. Some say the soldiers that she talk to felt better than the debriefings given to them by their superiors."

Campbell jumped in, "Yes, she had a very charismatic attraction. During the Gulf War, she was part of a platoon of Green Berets and even disguised as one of them."

"What was she doing there?"

Campbell smiled, "Well…she disobeyed Big Boss's orders of not involving herself in the battle. Foxhound at the time were conducting secret operations. The platoon that she was with was attacked by a bunch of insurgents and all the men were stuck in a ditch, badly wounded by gunfire. She, single-handly, held off enemy fire until a Foxhound helicopter came to picked them up."

A woman laughter cocked the eyebrow of Campbell, 'Naomi?"

Softly, Naomi sighed, "I just remember that she told me that as the chief medical officer of that time was bandaging the cuts and gunshots she got from the entire affair, Big Boss was chastising her about getting involved in operations that don't concern her and playing hero. All she did was yell, "Sedate me! Sedate me!"

Campbell snickered as Miller and Snake suspiciously raised their eyebrows, "I thought you didn't know her?"

Miller's words shocked her face in the error of her words, "Well…I apologize. I only met her once five years ago when Dr. Clark was giving her a entrance physical exam. He was the one who told me the story."

"Entrance exam? I thought she was already in Foxhound."

Naomi shook her head, "No…you see. She helped establish a unit called Heaven, which eventually by the high approval of Big Boss, she commanded for a time."

"I never heard of this unit."

"It was a unit that specialized in rescue operations. No matter what branch of military, black or covert ops, official or unofficial, they would go to great lengths in recapturing back American soldiers or in rare occasions, soldiers from other allied countries. They also cared for war orphans."

"It was a pretty small unit,' Campbell added, " It only consisted of a maximum of six people and a small army for emergencies."

"Who did they answer to?"

"No one."

"Surely, they need the CIA, Pentagon, or some government agency to fund this unit."

"No. When Angel established the unit, she paid for it through her own means."

Snake's eyes grew a little, "She must be loaded."

"Very," Miller bluntly, "I wonder where she got that money?"

"Campbell," Snake asked, "Is the unit still active?"

"Unfortunately no," Campbell's mouth drew a thin line across his face, "The government grow weary of her actions. It says here that the Pentagon and CIA reprimanded her and accused her of treason and conspiracy. Her unit was going to be executed until she gave them an alternative."

"Alternative?"

"She said that she will exile herself from the country to save her unit. They understood her reasoning and agreed to it."

"What is she doing back here?"

"Liquid," Naomi stated, "In gratitude for saving his life, he found her and asked her to join Foxhound. He even wiped away her charges of treason and reconcile her U.S citizenship back."

Snake slowly stride down the small stairs heading towards the door in front of him which snow seemed to seep from all its cracks. Taking a short glance to Angel, he wondered why she was helping him. If Liquid helped her, why is she betraying him? Angel gave him a glance back but he shifted away before her eyes and his connected.

"Snake," he forgot Naomi was still on the codec, "about Meryl."

"Yeah…don't worry. Tell the Colonel she is all right."

"Yes…but Snake."

Naomi's eyes wandered away from the codec for a moment, "Why did you save her?"

"What do you mean?"

"I thought you didn't care about her."

Remembering the conversation he had with Naomi after fighting the Ninja…Gray Fox, he realized what the nurse or scientist as she like to be called was pulling.

"I don't like to see any woman die right in front of me."

"Oh really, since when did anyone death bother you so much?"

The Colonel came to Snake's defense though Snake didn't want it, "Naomi, it's true that Snake has killed a lot of people but that doesn't mean he doesn't have a heart."

"It's okay, Colonel. She's right."

Naomi's face seemed dissatisfied as the transmission went static.

After the battle between Mantis, she sensed a new air of hostility among Snake and her. Meryl didn't suspect a thing about her. She is young and naive. She knew Meryl will not really give a second thought to her. But Snake....he was going to be difficult. Cynical, sarcastic, and a seasoned veteran, he probably distrusted her still even after she save their lives like four times in the last few hours. Well, she wasn't worried. Everything was going according to plan just like Liquid said.

Observing the two soldiers, she had to smile at how Snake was hiding his feelings towards Meryl, who had inadvertantly shared hers under the hypnosis of Psycho Mantis. Poor Meryl, though, if Snake could stop being an ass and start to talk about what happened there instead of ignoring and pushing her away, maybe Meryl wouldn't have felt so smeared. If Meryl doesn't talk soon, she will have to and this time all bets are off!

* * *

**OOOOh! Angel is going to give Snake a beat down...with words of course. Do you guys think she will succeed or will Snake just dismiss her? Well, we will see in the next chapter!**


	28. Awakening

**I like to express my gratitude towards Saiph Nebula, the author of LWYD, for looking over my work.**

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Awakening

Sudden drop in temperature forced her to cross her arms against her chest in an attempt to keep warm. The hard metal changed into a snowy pile of mush and water as all three of them entered a cave-like structure. Staring at the back's of her comrades, she was amazed at how they could remain indifferent to the temperature as her teeth clattered. Determined to not look like a weakling, she removed her arms from their position and copied theirs. Still, she wondered how Meryl could stand this below zero weather in nothing but a tank top and green pants.

Wolves howled in the distance turning each of their heads, trying to pinpoint where they came from.

"Could there be wolves in here?"

Angel thought that was obvious but she keep her mouth shut.

"Wolf-dogs. Half-wolf. Half-husky."

"How do you know so much?"

"I ride dog sleds. I'm musher."

Meryl slowly walked farther into the cave, "You guys stay here. I'll check this area out."

"Okay, but just watch yourself."

Meryl just nodded as Angel agreed to Snake's statement. As Meryl crawled on her hands and knees, Angel amused herself with the snow on the ground giggling. She noticed Snake giving her a bored or was it an annoyed glance?

"White…Snow white….I love the color."

She picked up a fistful of snowflakes forgetting that her body temperature was dropping. She threw the fistful of snow behind her and watched it exploded on the wall of rock. Rapidly, she did the same thing over and over again like a toddler in a sandbox. Snake didn't pay her antics any attention.

"_We are the same, Snake. We both committed patricide, trying to destroy the past that has caused us so much pain. Our mothers giving birth to us not knowing that they have given life to monsters…murderers. You are no different from us, Snake."_

_The words of Psycho Mantis ate at his skull. That psychopath dug into his head. Filled him with images of buildings burning around a red ball of sun with a bald headed kid walking barefoot in the soil of skeletal remains. Mantis gave him images of bloody hands smothering his body with calls of mercy and pleads for life. _

"_Listen to me, Snake. You and I both share the same pain…the same blood…"_

_He saw a tall, older man wearing an eye patch with short, grayish white hair matching the beard covering his chin. A trench coat draped on his body with such authority as his hands covered in leather gloves. His face solemn but his eyes held madness as he looked upon a much younger man who was holding a can of aerosol and lighter in the other hand. His fingers sweating as the lighter danced in between them. _

"_like our fathers."_

_Flipping the lid off the lighter, his index finger flicked the roller twice to produce a steady flame. As he brought the can of aerosol in front of him, the old man started chanting three little words that caused the young man to cringe in anger._

"_I'm your father."_

_As the aerosol met with the yellow-red flame, a spray of fire caused the old man to burst in flames. Still, he kept on chanting the three little words even as his skin turned black with ashes. Suddenly, the image shifted. The younger version of him changed into the same little boy that he saw earlier. Big boss's body transformed into a middle-aged man who was holding his head in agony pleading for his son to stop whatever he was doing to his mind. But the boy just smiled as his father seizure into a fury of scotched flames._

"_You and I…both suffered the same trauma. But there is a difference. You deny everything. Forgot everything and you just wanted to be forgotten. I want that too. I want to be forgotten from this world."_

"_Remember this, Snake. I accepted who I am just as you did. There is something else that you don't know about yourself. But it's not my place. Liquid will tell you that! HA-HA-HA!"_

Anger…bitterness…sorrow…guilt…all these feelings hit her heart so hard that she didn't even feel it until now. Why was she having these feelings? Her mind was a totally blank before this. It can't be her feelings or were they…his? Gazing at the stone cold soldier in front of her, who hadn't move a muscle ever since Meryl left, Angel felt a shock of these emotions quite surprising yet welcomed. During the whole time she was near him, she has always tried to reach out towards him; but his feelings were so difficult to detect and read that she gave up. What made his emotions suddenly so readable?

"_Come to think of it. It wasn't until Meryl came along that he finally showed some sort of emotion."_

Meryl. She inwardly smacked her forehead. Of course it made so much sense now. In triumph of this discovery, she scrubbed off the snow on her behind and took a deep breath.

"Snake, are you all right?"

Unbeknownst to him, his face lost some color but his expression still remained solid.

"I'm fine."

"Are you sure? You seem like you've seen a ghost."

Snake sharply shot back, "I'm fine."

Understanding his frustration, she bravely cupped his cold face in her dried hands.

"Your face has lost some color."

She was surprised how smooth his skin felt to her touch and was very tempted to take off her gloves to feel his skin with her pale, scarred ones. Though, she was too modest to do it. Her hands were ugly and she didn't want to show something of her which he wouldn't return in kind. Snake, harshly yet slowly, placed her gentle hands off his face. She smiled warmly indicating she wasn't heartbroken by the lost of contact.

"Snake, I want the truth. Why do you act this way?"

It was more of a rhetorical question as she raise her index finger to keep Snake from interrupting her, "I think I know. I read your file once. The hero of Outer Heaven and Zanzibar Land."

The mention of the word hero made Snake more graver still. She could tell that the moniker "hero" doesn't suit him. She will have disagreed but he was there and he knew what he did. But she did also. She has always heard stories of the great mercenary Solid Snake defeating Gray Fox and Big Boss. The two Foxhound legends who will forever go down in history as terrorists. They weren't the first ones and certainly not the last. But what people didn't realize as she didn't at first was that it was also a trial of pain for him…Solid Snake. No one noticed that Solid Snake killed his best friend and committed the most worse crime anyone or any _son_ could…patricide.

"Sorry, I know that leaves you uneasy."

Angel moved closer to him. Her face grew with warmth and compassion, "You felt guilty for a killing a man who told you that he was your father. Big Boss was nothing except a C.O to you, wasn't he?"

Snake took his gaze and walked away. She caught him before he made another step away, "It wasn't just guilt. It was anger. Anger towards Big Boss for having false faith in you when he sent you to Outer Heaven. He took advantage of your inexperience to fuel his chances of his country succeeding. Also, when he announced to you that he was your father, you couldn't believe that the father you never knew could kill you without remorse with so much hatred. "

"How do you know all this?"

His tone was struck between bewilderment and enraged at being so unmasked by a woman he only met thirty minutes ago.

"Let's just say I have a first-hand source."

Snake held some disbelief. How could she know about all this? It almost felt like she could read his mind. He didn't like it. He didn't like it at all.

"But there is something that you are holding back. When you killed Big Boss, there was another emotion that you had, that is so small to miss yet too dangerous to ignore."

She didn't have a name for it yet but that same feeling resided in both Liquid and Solid. Liquid wraps around it like a drug. His hunger…his obsession was like his father's. Still, there may be hope for this one and it's up to her to keep him from twisting into the monster that so many of the men she knew in her life transformed into.

Snake kept a cold glare at her, burning her eyes.

"I don't need a psychiatrist!"

Oh! She hated that word! Now, she knew how her friend despised people calling her a nurse when she was a scientist.

"I was a counselor not a psychiatrist! There's a world of difference."

"I see no difference."

Sternly, Angel sniffed a whole air of oxygen, "Oh! One more thing. Watch what you say in front of Meryl."

'What do you mean?"

Clearing her throat, she tried to mimic the gruff voice of Snake's to the best of her ability.

"Other people just complicate my life. I don't like to get involved."

The woman's mockery of him didn't impress, only annoyed him.

"Look, Snake. You're the experienced one here."

Angel softened her voice, trying to calm herself from the anger she was exploding.

"You're the role model. She is a rookie and she has feelings for you. The questions she asked that you so gently," the hint of sarcasm in her voice made Snake growl, "answered were her way of reaching out to you. Would it have hurt to at least answer one little question?"

Snake's face seem conflicted at the moment, "I'm just warning you. She looks up to you. Adores you. What you say and how you act are going to influence her more than you know."

She could feel something rise inside Snake after her lips mouthed "influence". As those words slipped out of her mouth, his callous interior seemed to weaken into a cold reality, a reality he thought he was already exploring.

It felt like a slap in the face to him. Could she be right? Could his tautness shape her into a killer like him? During his whole career of being a soldier, he didn't have much charisma like some got over time. To him, there was no difference between persuasion and manipulation. That's why he denied a commander position after the Outer Heaven incident. He wasn't like Big Boss…nor did he want to be. That's how he wanted it. People do what they had to do and leave him alone. Can all this coldness bite him in the butt later on?

Angel waved her hands in the air, distracting his thoughts, "Well, that's my opinion. You don't have to listen to me but at least take it to consideration."

Footsteps came to their attention as Meryl's red hair shined through the crawl space. Her face handle some sort of content as she rubbed her knees. Snow sprinkled to the ground as she shook the fabric of her pants.

"It's alright. The place is safe."

"What took you so long?"

Snake asked Meryl which made Angel giggled, "What's wrong, Snake. Did I bore you with my mouth?"

Angel laughed as she walked towards the crawling space. Her chuckles echoed as she crawled down the dark space. Meryl's eyes gazed at Snake and back towards the crawl space confused.

"What happened here?"

Ignoring the question, Snake grumbled irritatingly as he gave a knee.

"Come on, let's get moving."

Meryl followed him with a strain of jealousy. What were they talking about while she was gone? She really wanted to know but since Snake seemed to be agitated, she could ask later on.

Wolves were howling as Meryl and Snake passed them with caution. Snake had his pistol ready if they decided to become feral and attack. A wolf pup with short gray fur and a white face was hopping on its hind legs as they discovered Angel, smiling madly. She bent over and the pup immediately snatched its white teeth playfully on her glove. Laughing, she jiggled so the pup could lose his grip. But it was very determined even when Angel lifted her hand up. Meryl had to smile at the pup who was dangling and growling in mid-air. Finally, the pup gave up and let go, scurrying away with a bark of playfulness.

"That crawl space leads us to the entrance of the walkway separating this building from the Communication Towers."

She pointed to the small, dark hole beside Angel's skinny legs. Angel got out of the way as Snake, without even taking a glance over Angel, went inside. Meryl thought it was very rude but Angel seemed indifferent to Snake's grumpy mood.

'What's wrong with him?"

Angel just sighed, "He is just mad because I could see through him. Now you better follow him or he will get even more grumpier."

She went to her knees and looked back at Angel who didn't even make a move to follow, "Are you coming?"

"No, I left something here and I'm going to search for it. I'll catch up with you guys soon."

"All right, you follow us as soon as you can."

Snake had his back against a metal wall with a cigarette in his mouth lit. The smell was strong as she stood up. She couldn't help but admire his bravado and wished hers was as confident. His emerald eyes were looking at her all over, making her nervous.

"What?"

Snake, at first, didn't respond. His eyes still wandered around her like they were hypnotized. By giving him the same glance, he finally lifted his gaze.

"Nothing."

Meryl shook her head, noting Snake's strange behavior. She still was trying to figure out what happened back there between Angel and him. Watching her feet kick some snow with anxiety…strange. She wasn't really worried, though her stomach did have some butterflies, but for some reason, this overwhelming feeling of apprehension made her feel uneasiness. She felt eyes stalking her again. Her eyes glanced back at Snake, who was staring at her again.

"What?"

Her tone was very grumpy. All Snake did was stared back at the silver doors in front of her, which irritated her even more. As she was about to say something, Snake held his hand up for her to shut it.

"Master, what is it?"

"Snake, I just got this weird email from Shadow Moses."

The Colonel and Snake in unison showed disbelief, "What?"

"What did it say?"

Miller's lips smacked, "It says: Beware of the woman known as Angel. She is an agent sent from the Pentagon to kill you after this mission is over if the biological agent known as Foxdie fails. If you don't believe me, believe this. The message ends there and gives off file links."

Miller cursed loudly, "Damn it, I can't see them. Something is blocking my computer from looking at them."

"Who sent the message?"

"It was labeled anonymous."

The Colonel contemplated his next command as Miller still kept on trying to open the files. He finally let out a deep breath like he couldn't imagine what he just heard, "Miller, keep working on it. Snake, you watch out for Angel. This maybe true or not but still, keep a lookout."

"All right, Colonel."

"Where's Angel?"

The question had a hidden tone of distrust and suspicion. Meryl didn't now why. Angel seemed all right. A little crazy but a good heart all the same. Though, she had to admit that Angel was hiding something especially after her little stunt a few minutes ago.

"She said she will catch up with us later. She'll be back."

The reassured smile on her lips didn't really help the situation but at least Snake's face wasn't as grave as it was before. They both decided to leave the cave and enter the walkway bridge heading towards the Communication Towers. The solid darkness of the sky was the ceiling but it also created a blanket over what laid ahead of them like a very thick fog. Not even one star could guide them through. Maybe if she took a step forward, but Snake put his arm in front of her before she took one step forward. Pure, white snow surrounded their next few steps. Cautiously, Snake lowered his fingers into the snow digging straight through.

"This is a deep enough area for claymores."

Meryl copied his movements. He was right. As her fingers dug through the icy snow, she just imagine her whole hand fitting inside this dense of an area. It was enough room to scatter mines.

"What are we going to do?"

Snake picked up his monitor and shook it as the screen turned white, "The radar isn't working. I won't be able to use the mine detector."

They were both determined but without knowing where the mines were, they will both be blown to smithereens. Closing her eyes in frustration, she was startled as her eyelids kept the image of the ground below her. The difference was she could see the small tan boxes of claymores placed beneath the snow. Opening her eyes, she could see the image of Mantis in front of her. As quick as he appeared, he soon disappeared like…he was a ghost.

She didn't doubt what she saw. Mantis was dead but why was he helping them again? Putting that irrelevant thought aside, she started walking, ignoring Snake's cries for her to stop.

She couldn't. It felt like some weird force was pushing her body forward, disregarding what the warnings or lights in her brain flashed. Snake was frozen solid as he watched her zigzagged across the field of snow with such cool and precise movements. For a spilt second, he almost forgot she was a rookie.

As her mind regained its control, her boots lost the feeling and sound of the soft, crunchy snow and felt ,with relief, the tough, pallid cement. With triumph, she placed her hands against her small curves. She grin gleefully at how shock Snake's face looked.

"So what do you think? Pretty good, huh?"

"How did you know where the mines were?"

That question even made her qualm how she really did this. The quick shot of Mantis realized that he was more involved, "It sounds weird but when Mantis drove into my mind, I could see where the mines were placed. Are you impressed?"

"Well," Snake didn't know how to respond, "a little bit."

Disappointed, she felt her arms slumped, "Only a little?"

That stunt she pulled was very good but he didn't want to get her cocky. Following the footsteps she imprinted on the snow, he couldn't help but notice how small her feet were compared his. He saw her staring at him, entranced.

"_What you say and how you act are going to influence her more than you know."_

Angel's sentence kept repeating in his head, chanting with such a harsh timbre. His heart pumped viciously with regret. As a soldier, he couldn't regret answering her questions with such blunt disregard but as a man… A man. Being a soldier for so long, he forgot what he was…a man. But he can't act like a man. Not now. Though, maybe after this mission was over…

As he was finally over the minefield, his heart melted a little as Meryl's young, warm eyes gave him a smile. It was an innocent one. Maybe, after the mission, he could have a second chance. He could perhaps ask her to come with him. Tell her what his conscience really wanted him to say and damn his soldier side. He was so tempt to return it but his face couldn't when he saw something that made his heart jump with fear

There, on her shoulder was a bright red light. It was caressing her bare shoulder menacingly like it was taunting him. Meryl was still smiling asking what he was staring at. All he could mutter was…

_"Meryl!"_

He could feel her body stop dead cold. Her smiled turned upside down as his lips quivered which was unusual for him. She turned around to see what made Snake so earnest. The red light touching her body made her heart stop. All she felt was shock as the light veered down towards her leg slowly, delaying the inevitable. Her mind was a totally blank as fear paralyzed her body. All her training went out the window as whoever had her in their sights controlled time, making her weak in front of Snake.

Snake watched as Meryl cranked her neck towards him. He didn't realize that his instincts made him hide behind the wall out of the sniper's sight. All he could think about as he looked upon her face was the fact that he wished for a second chance. That he longed for her…to answer her questions…to learn about her as she wanted to know him. A shot ringed across the room made Snake call her name in despair.

In war, there is no such thing as a second chance.

* * *

**Oh no! What's going to happen to Meryl? Oh! We all know...or do we? HeeHee!**

**Do you guys feel sorry for Snake? I do. Poor guy can't catch a break, can he? **


	29. Captured

**I like to thank everyone who is taking an interest to this story. I hope you guys keep on being excited and happy!**

* * *

Captured

"_How could I be so stupid?"_

Time seem to slow down as the red light searched her body. Remembering all the VR simulations and live combat exercises, she had never felt more helpless in her life...not since she was a little girl. Thoughts of her life didn't even cross her mind though. No, her attention was directed at the ambivalent soldier at her side. Seeing her hero's face in so much agony made her feel ashamed at herself. Why did he look at her like that? He wasn't losing anything from her death. All she has been was a thorn in his side and he really showed nothing but thick-skinniness and coldness towards her. But that face…he looked so tempted to jump to her rescue and take a bullet for her…_her! _But she knew…he knew that this wasn't a movie where the hero always saves the girl and they both ride out towards the sunset to live happily ever after. His experience was much more valuable here than a foolish, incompetent rookie like herself. No, this was the real world. A cruel world. They both acknowledged that she had to die for him and the mission. But oh did she wish that Snake didn't see her like this. It was all her fault. Not his!

Her body slumped as her ears perked at the sound of thunder. Her eyes closed to accept the bullet that will cut through her body like needle. Or maybe someone had a different plan…The sound of thunder didn't come from the red light but as her senses became more alert, she noticed another gleaming light above her head.

"Meryl, Get down!"

She glanced back to see a sight for sore eyes. It was Angel holding a sniper rifle at that threshold behind her. She launched a couple more bullets before facing her again.

"Meryl! Go!"

Meryl sidestepped towards Snake, clearing the hallway.

"Angel, be careful."

Snake was yelling through all the shots, "There's claymore mines underneath. Follow the footprints."

Angel acknowledged and slowly watched carefully as she entered the minefield, while still firing at the sneaky sniper that hid in the darkness.

Angel tried to get close to the two. The sniper, though, keep pounding her. Meryl was a little squeamish as her friend juggled between two dangers. A pop sound was heard and Meryl closed her eyes as one of the claymore mines went off.

Both Snake and Meryl watched as Angel was blown against wall behind her. Suffering from the shock of the blast, she signaled she was all right. Angel threw a couple more shots before the sniper seemed to not retaliate. Holding her hand for them to stay put, she stealthily moved deeper into the dark fog. After a few moments of suspense, they heard Angel yell for them.

As they hurried to meet her, the dark fog seemed to have lifted. Angel was breathing hard. Meryl gave her a hard look towards Angel's carelessness. She could have been killed by that mine.

"What?"

Angel seemed to have saw her look.

"You could have been killed by that mine! You need to stop being so reckless."

Angel just laughed and dismissed her comment. Really, this woman was nuts, "You sound like Snake!"

Snake gave her the same hard look but for a more different reason; like she had insulted him. Angel's smile changed into a more serious one as she sat the rifle down against one of the cement walls.

"Who was that?"

The question was directed towards Angel, "That was Foxhound's best sharpshooter, Sniper Wolf. You are lucky, Meryl. She probably would have shot you if I didn't get here in time."

"Yeah. Thanks."

"I don't see a body," Snake observed the vacant space above Angel's head where a metal platform laid.

"I'm a counselor, not a executioner."

"Counselor? I thought you were a soldier, Angel"

Angel's cheeks blushed, "Well, I'm technically a soldier but I'm not one either."

Meryl looked confused. Angel sighed, "I'll explain later. Right now, we need to get moving."

Snake seemed to have agreed and the trio were heading towards the corner when his ear vibrated, he stopped. He could hear the desperate ringing of his codec. As he turn his back and answered it, he couldn't help but feel a hole in his stomach.

"Snake!"

Miller yelled, "You are heading towards a trap."

Campbell came on, "What's going on, Master?"

"That woman, Angel, is the one who murdered those scientists!"

"That's ridiculous."

Snake noticed Campbell's face flash with anger. That was unusual for him.

"I finally got inside the files, but it was strange," his lips curled.

"Strange?"

"As you were dealing with the sniper, I tried to get open them with several applications but never of them worked. I was about to ask Mei Ling for guidance when the files just opened like someone was holding it until this very moment."

"What was in those files, Master?"

"A video of the slaughter of the scientists. Here, let me put it on monitor."

Snake grabbed the monitor and the video started playing. It was the same video that Otacon showed him in his lab.

"But how do you know it's Angel?"

"I zoomed in on her face when she came closer to the camera."

The video kept playing on mute. Master fast forwarded to the point of this matter. He paused the video and a clear inside square outlined in yellow surrounded the woman's face as she stared at Snake.

"Okay, let's clear the image…"

The blurriness of the video faded slowly. It was still blurry but as it got clearer, the face was getting more and more familiar. The scar, the blonde hair though he only saw one side of her face…nonetheless, it was Angel.

"This means…" Snake couldn't finished the sentence as Master interrupted him.

"She is the seventh member of Foxhound!" Master placed a picture on his screen. The picture had all of Foxhound on it including Angel in the background. It was a different picture than the one he saw in his briefing.

"Snake," Master coolly spoke, "You have to deal with her."

"Wait a minute. What about the email sent to you?"

He couldn't see his eyes from his glasses but for a second, he thought he saw Master shift his eyes like he was watching something. He was so deadly quiet.

"Master, what is it?"

"The email?"

"Yes, what was all that about?"

"Nothing…Snake."

"Master…why are you being so elusive?"

Something was going on. Master was never this tight lipped. As he was about to ask him again, Master cut off his transmission abruptly.

"_Damn!"_

He gradually placed his hand on the handle of his SOCOM. Angel and Meryl didn't pay any attention as they talked about how far they needed to go to get to the underground maintenance base. He couldn't help but wish that his suspicions were wrong but the moment he saw the blond woman, something was fishy. She was hiding something. Though, he was edgy. This woman knew all about him and that was a disadvantage. But she wasn't the only one who seemed fishy…Master…the email. Maybe he could get the information out of Angel.

With his back still facing them, he called out.

"Meryl, come here."

Angel just watched as Meryl walked towards him. She was proud that they were all alive and closer to achieve their goal. It all this goes right. They will all make it out alive.

"What is it, Snake."

Meryl asked innocently but her face grew concern when his face turned stern, "Stay here."

Snake twirled around with his weapon hold high at Angel, making her step back. Meryl was even more shocked.

"Snake, what the hell?"

Angel stared at his barrel. He could sense her quivering at the sight of it.

"Snake, what's the deal?"

"You are a member of Foxhound."

"Snake…"

Meryl softly placed her hand on his shoulder, "She's a rookie."

He shook his head, "She's no rookie. She is part of Liquid's army."

"What?"

Meryl stared at Angel, not believing what she was hearing.

"Is this true, Angel?"

Angel's blue sprinkled with sadness and distress, "Yes, he is correct. I'm the seventh member of Foxhound. Left hand woman of Liquid Snake."

She was speechless. Here was a woman who helped her escape from the cell. Helped keep her spirits high and saved her life a dozen times. She was even considered calling this woman a friend…or a sister she never had. Now, she felt disgusted with this woman and with herself for being so naïve.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not one of them anymore. I-I found out about Liquid's revolution. At first, I made him believe that I was with them."

Her shoulders limped with failure, "I guess I wasn't convincing enough because when I radioed someone I trusted what was going on, Liquid ambushed me. He called me a traitor and tortured me for several hours. But I glad my message got through though."

Snake growled, "What about those scientists you killed?"

Now, Angel was confused, "Scientists? I didn't kill any scientists. They were killed after I was captured. You must believe me."

She really wanted to believe her…she truly did. If it weren't for her, Snake would have been killed by nerve gas and she would have died by that Sniper Wolf. Suddenly, questions began to form in her head. Could Angel have known about all this events? Back at the holding cell, she told her a great deal about this base more than she knew. But if she works for Liquid, why did she save them? Did she save them to kill them right here? That didn't make sense. Why go to the trouble of saving your enemy from death than kill them now? Nothing made any sense.

"Don't lie to me!"

Snake dangerously came closer to Angel, "There is a video of you slaughtering those scientists in cold-blood. Now, tell me what was Liquid planning to use you for?"

Meryl noticed Angel's forehead dripping with sweat, her chest heaving. If she didn't feel as angry as Snake right now, she would have probably felt sorry for her.

"I told you! I'm not one of them. I didn't kill those scientists."

"Stop denying it!"

Meryl shouted at Angel.

"What do you guys want me to say? That I killed them so it will give you a good reason to kill me. That's all you guys want to do now, isn't it?"

Angel, with defiance, walked towards Snake ignoring the weapon aimed at her small chest.

"Stop!"

Snake yelled straightening his stance but that didn't stop Angel. Her chest hit the barrel and her hand laid itself overtop the weapon. This was a very dangerous move.

"You can't kill me, can you?"

Angel's eyes stared at his with such intensity, "Deep down inside yourself is saying that this is wrong. I can feel your hesitation. You won't kill me. Not in cold-blood. I know you."

"You don't know me!"

"Actually, I do. Listen to me, you and I are the same. Both outsiders from different worlds. But our worlds are united now. You can't destroy it now that the bond has been formed."

"Bond? What the hell are you talking about?"

"You don't know? I thought those people would have told you."

Snake's codec rung. He answered with his other hand still keeping the gun trained at Angel.

"Snake, listen to me."

It was Master, who looked like hell. His glasses were missing, showing his dark, almost black eyes. His face was covered in dirt, scratches, and bruises with his messed up hair sprouting out of his well kept ponytail he always wore. Almost like he had a fight or was tortured.

"Master, what the hell happened to you?"

"Turn your monitor off."

Snake switched it off, "No one will be listening. Go ahead."

"Snake, I think that Angel maybe telling the truth," Master's nose started to bleed.

"Master, are you all right?"

"Listen, one of her files had a bounty on it. The Pentagon authorized mercenaries to track her down and bring her dead or alive."

"Why?"

Master coughed, "It was because she knew some type of information that the Pentagon wanted to keep a secret. I found out and armed men came into my home. I think that email was a trick."

Master's eyes were flaccid. His head moved back forth like he was fighting something invisible, "Snake, those nanomachines you were injected with…carry more than nootropics and anti-freezing peptides."

"Master, what do you mean?"

"Your nanomachines can control you also."

"What?!"

Master noticed Snake's ridiculous glance, making think that he thought he was insane, "It's true but there is also one more thing…"

A gunshot boomed across Master's side of the codec. Snake watched as his eyes closed and he called his name to get him to wake up, "Master!"

"Foxdie…" Master suddenly collapsed but not before spitting blood out towards his monitor. Then the codec went static.

Snake, assuming the worst, could only say his name, "Master…"

Turning his monitor back on, Campbell's face was waiting for him.

"Snake, your orders are to kill Angel."

"Why? What information did she find that caused the Pentagon to order her assassinated?"

"Did you talk to Master?"

"Yes…Colonel."

He narrowed his eyes at the Colonel making him sweat, "I see…we heard what happened."

"He's dead?"

"Yes, he is. I'm sorry, Snake."

There was silence between the two. So much anger built up inside. He suspected something was up from the moment he took this mission. Now, Master, his former mentor and the most reliable person he has ever known, is dead killed by whoever set him up.

"But Snake," Campbell sounded very calm but Snake could tell that Campbell was shaking and was afraid of something.

"You have to kill Angel," he was final in his decision or tried to be.

"Why should I?"

"We already told you the reason. Snake, don't make this harder than it already is."

"Harder? Master is dead. And you are ordering me to kill someone in cold-blood?"

"Do it or Naomi will program your nanomachines to."

"_Master was right!"_

"So you are going to control me by nanomachines?"

"I'm sorry, Snake."

"Sorry doesn't cut it anymore! I'm through with you!"

Snake ended the transmission. Angel's eyes were still cross-eyed. Staring at the barrel for a long period of time seemed to make her restless.

"So do I die?"

She asked with such innocent woe that Snake didn't want to be responsible for her death. As he was about put his gun away, his body grew stiff. His fingers felt so numb he couldn't move them. He grunted as the finger he had on the trigger was putting pressure on it gently. He tried to fight those damn little robots crawling inside of him.

"Angel!"

They weren't lying. They were going to make him murder this woman. His mind raced many questions in his head. If she was the enemy, why did she save his life? Why wasn't she defending herself? She lied. That was the truth but was she afraid? Afraid of him and Meryl? Why did she fight to make them believe her? She didn't have the face of killer or the soldier eyes. He didn't realize it until now. Her eyes were soft and compassionate just like Meryl's was. But it was more than that. He used as much will as possible to force the gun to aim at a less vital area as he couldn't stop his finger from firing the bullet. Pain seized his right shoulder as the bullet pierced through Angel's right shoulder causing her to hold the injured area.

"No!"

She yelled as she rammed him to the ground ignoring her wounded status. Knocking the air of him, he watched as Angel came nearer. As he gazed into her eyes, he felt overwhelmed by emotions. But it wasn't from him…

"What did you fire on me? The Pentagon is using you. Can't you see that?"

"I felt your friend die. It's all my fault."

Meryl didn't understand what was going on. Her mind couldn't comprehend the situation correctly. All she saw was Angel attacking Snake. Grabbing Angel by the shoulders. The woman lashed in pain as her fingers dug into her wound. Throwing her away from Snake, Angel screamed in horror. The sky seem to crack with fury as Angel flipped over and with full strength, she sunk her white fingers and threw the unexpected rookie to the floor. Meryl arched her back in agony as she rolled across the ground. Her back crashed into the wall behind her, making her silver lined Desert Eagle fly out of her pocket right in front of her face.

Trauma…full trauma trounced herself. Emotions wildly expressing itself in battle. She couldn't control them. She always tried to control these strong emotions but when Snake shot her in the shoulder, something inside her snapped with uncontrolled grief mixed with indignation. It was like a virus that couldn't be cured. She felt like she was going to vomit her very sanity. As she looked fixedly upon Snake, his face brought out memories.

"_Why?"_

"_Because you are weak and are hindering my destiny. I realized that with you around. I can't accomplish my goals…her dreams."_

"_You are weak. You're a pitiful excuse of a soldier. I should kill you right here, but I need you for information. Nothing more!"_

Oh! The horror! The horror!

Snake watched as Angel walked past him, heading towards his pistol. Knowing she wasn't in her right frame of mind. She was full of trauma he could sense it. He didn't know who caused it but he knew by experience what she was going though. PTSD. He knew the actions and symptoms because he has it too. Still, he wondered why he was feeling it also. The bond she mentioned earlier.

"_Is that what she was talking about?"_

Could he feel what she feels? Putting that question aside, he saw her staggering towards his weapon. As she grabbed it by the handle, she lazily placed it to her side and walked towards him in a crazed state.

Meryl saw her too and watched as Angel headed towards the legend dangerously. Thankfully, her favorite weapon was right beside her. She aimed her weapon. Though her weapon only had a short range, she aimed and fired two shots with ease. Snake felt a burning sensation on both of his thighs spasmming in shock. The pain sharply stunned them to submission like nails hammered down. At first, he thought he got shot before he heard a whimpering behind him. It turned into sobs of salty tears. He quickly got up to witness Angel gasping as she tried to get off from the cold, cement ground. Blood imprinted a symbol of an angel behind her in irony. Snow began to fall from the sky as the wind howled in mourning. Strangely, a dove landed on her stomach with red spots all over it's wings. It sung sadly as it stared at Angel and then towards Snake and Meryl.

She felt shame as she realized that she blasted her friend with no remorse or feeling.

"Angel."

"No, don't be sorry."

Angel smiled then a sound crashed silence her. Meryl and Snake looked around trying to see what made that noise.

"Do you feel it, Snake."

"What?"

Angel lightly flapped her arms which were spread out, 'Close your eyes."

He did.

"Do you feel the tension. The anxiety. My fear!"

Snake suddenly opened his eyes, "Liquid!"

"You both need to get out of here! He was planning another ambush here. I was trying to stop it. Leave me! Go!"

Snake sensed her urgency, "Meryl, let's go!"

"We can't leave her!"

Meryl pleaded as he grabbed her arm and pulled her away from Angel's bloody yet conscious body.

"We have no choice, Meryl!"

He saw nylon ropes fall from the sky as soldiers slid down with their rifles drawn forward. Snake had his hand on his holster, forgetting that his gun was indisposed at the moment. Behind him, ropes carried soldiers with heavy armor and arsenal. They both were surrounded as three other soldiers picked up Angel harshly dismissing her injuries. A sinister laugh followed by the echoing of steady claps perked their ears to attention of the metal platform in front of them. A man with blond hair wearing a black trench coat. His bulky build created an enormous shadow on the mercenary and rookie. Steadily, he ended his amusement by sighing with a smirk.

"What a joyful scene!"

The man's British accent chuckled with charm and vile intent. Grabbing hold of the railing, the man jumped off the platform landing with a gust of cold air. His footsteps echoed menacingly drawing closer to his prisoners. Snake pushed Meryl behind him as the man…who looked eerily similar to him except for the hair color and darker skin tone…excused the guards to let him pass so he could have a better look at them especially him.

"There definitely is a resemblance. Don't you think, little brother?"

Snake was silent, coldly glaring at Liquid. The gesture only amused Liquid further, "Or should I say big brother. I'm not sure but it doesn't matter."

Meryl felt her skin crawl as Liquid ogled at her. His eyes twinkled at her, "I see we have the same taste in woman…fiery and easy."

He chortled as Snake held Meryl from striking the man who was exactly looking for that type of response. Clearing his throat, he took one last glance at Meryl, who was red in the face, before returning his dark blue eyes to the man he called "brother".

"You and I are the last surviving sons of Big Boss."

Snake still held his stance but Meryl gave an inquisitive look.

"Sons of Big Boss? What is he talking about?"

Liquid's face brightened, "He never told you? Well, maybe later I will tell you what you so-called hero is. If you survive, of course."

"Sir!"

One of the guards, who was holding Angel, shouted, "What about the traitor?"

Waving his finger forward, the guard dragged the exhausted Angel closer to Liquid. Her wounds were still open and left trails of crimson lines as her feet skid across the white, crusty cement. The man made a tit-tit sound with his tongue, cupping his right hand on her chin slightly tilting it back.

"Poor old Angel. Did you really think you can stop all of this?"

Angel coughed as Liquid examined the gunshot wounds that entertained him, "I see your new friends gave you the same treatment that others before them have."

Angel wiggled her chin, trying to brush off his contact but it was useless.

"Why Angel? Why haven't you accept the fact that the government will never change? Look what they did to you!"

Liquid raised his voice, "They forced you into exile…kidnapped you…tortured you and you still think they are worth saving?"

The word "saving" made Liquid spit in loathing. Angel cracked a smile of resolve and defiance, "Yes, I think they are worth it."

"Bah! Stubborn as a mule. I'll through with you. I'll let Mara deal with you."

"Black Widow?"

Angel's eyes widen, "She is dead. I saw her die."

Liquid turned his back against her with amusement, "Did you see a body?"

"You do know what black widows do to their mates?"

"Snakes can be just as bad."

With the flick of a wrist, the guards holding Angel walked back towards the cave entrance behind them, "Take her away. I don't want to see this…traitor in my sight again."

Blood trails resumed as the wounded woman was dragged into the cold darkness in front of her. Liquid gave his attention back towards Snake and Meryl.

"Let's finish this conversation in a much warmer environment. But for the two of you…it will be shockingly warm."

Liquid let out a malicious chuckle as Snake and Meryl felt the butt of a rifle smacked against their heads. Blackness overcame their eyes as their bodies fell on the icy ground.

* * *

**Dang! I thought Snake and Meryl would be able to escape torture! Why did Campbell order Snake to kill Angel? Is there something going on behind the codec or is the Colonel really changed?**

**Will Angel, Snake and Meryl survive? You'll find out in the next chapter!**

**Also, aren't you guys hating me for killing Master Miller? Yep, he's dead.**


	30. Torment

**Torture. I hate torture.**

* * *

Torment

He didn't know how long he had been out nor where he was. All he could remember was the hard smack that made his head throb in pain. Heat was streaming his eyes making them strained and hot. Seven lightbulbs from the fixture above him uninvitedly greeted his crystal, green eyes with bright, blinding lights. Rapidly, he closed his eyes. Grimacing as he saw green spots inside his eyelids, giving him a headache from hell. Trying to grow accustomed to the light, he gently opened them and closed repeatedly until the burning sensation wore off. Cold metal firmly tightened his back. His wrists were constructed by bars of steel. As he heard familiar voices conspiring, he tried to see them but all he saw was his exposed chest rising and falling to his heated breaths. Liquid lashed at him. Blaming him for stealing his birthright. Comparing him to the light as he is the dark.

"Have they given into our demands yet?"

A woman with a heavy accent spoke. Snake didn't recognize the voice.

"Not yet."

"They won't given in. They all hypocrites. Every one of them."

"Is that your opinion as a Kurd?"

"They always put politics first."

"That's right. They will do anything to keep Metal Gear under the public's nose."

Snake jiggled his legs and arms trying desperately to free himself.

Ocelot called for Liquid acknowledging that Snake was awake from his nap. He must have saw his futile attempts in trying to escape his binds. His whole body jolted forwards as the bed sat straight up changing the position of the light fixtures from burning his eyes to scorching his scalp. Sneering at Liquid and Ocelot, he saw the woman who spoke earlier. She matched the description of Sniper Wolf from the pics he looked out during the briefing. Liquid seemed amused by his predicament but his smiled changed when the cell phone rung. Annoyed, he pulled it out of his coat pocket and flipped the lid. From what he could tell, Liquid wasn't happy and his face became more and more dark.

"Those idiots!"

Snake smirked at Liquid's outrage, which he noticed. He tried to compose himself so Snake wouldn't see his emotional outburst.

"All right, I'll be right there."

Liquid turned his back against Snake, hiding whatever he was feeling. But by the tone of his voice, he was compromised.

"They're still not responding to our demands."

Wolf slapped her thigh, "Damn Americans."

"Looks like you read they wrong."

"That's funny. Normally, the Americans are the first to the negotiating table. They must think they have something up their sleeve."

Suddenly, a door opened to Snake's left. High heels clicked and clanked with the sounds of moaning. A body, battered and broken, was thrown right between Wolf and Liquid. Her tank top was ripped to threads at the bottom. Her red hair covered her clammy face as her moaning continued.

"_Meryl!_

Grimacing at the sight in from of her, Sniper Wolf picked the beaten woman up as the clank of boots revealed a woman with a black hood on. The suit she was wearing was like a catsuit, pure black leather with smooth curves that fit with her nine-inch boot heels.

"Ah! Did you get anything out of her, Black Widow?"

"No, she is useless."

Liquid looked upon Meryl's battered body and smirked, "You were harsh."

The woman known as Black Widow let out a wild laugh as she twisted to stare at Snake in amazement. In awe, he couldn't comprehend. Her eyes…her face looked like…

"Angel!"

The woman snarled and slapped him rough with her hand. A red mark exploded on his cheek but soon faded as well as the string that followed it. No…her face was different in a way. Angel was cute and innocent. This woman in front of him was more sultry, seductive, and poisonous.

"Don't mistake me with that inferior product!"

"Snake," Liquid, with some genuine pride, grabbed her by the shoulder, "Meet the true seventh member of Foxhound, Black Widow."

Studying her, Snake felt guilt and rage consume him. His mind rewinded back to the front of the Communications Towers where he held Angel up and accused her of murder and lies. Shooting her in the shoulder...Meryl shooting her in both of her legs. All of the evidence that condemned her and it wasn't really her. It was this woman, Black Widow, who set her up to take the fall. For what? Revenge?

"I enjoyed impersonating her. But I wished you would have finished the job. You're just like your father, you know?"

His eye twitched. Does everyone know who his father is? Pushing her hood back, she moaned at the sight of his exposed chest. She placed her sharp-nailed hands on his chest and closed her eyes. Her hands made Snake feel weird. His heart tinkled and pulled harshly. Energy seemed to be drained from her touch. Skidding the surface of his stomach muscles, her red lips plucked with delight as Snake could feel tiredness overwhelming him.

"She has formed a bond with him. It's surprisingly strong. But I think that redhead has his heart. "

She jerked her head at the half-conscious Meryl which Wolf was still holding. Liquid seemed pleased with himself.

Black Widow came closer to Snake's face, "I wish I had more time with you. You look so much fun!"

With a pout look on her face, she headed back where she entered.

"But I have a certain thorn in my side to deal with."

Wolf gave a snarl of contempt as the woman left the room.

"I don't trust that woman!"

"I don't either, but if she could deal with that traitor, then that's fine by me."

"Snake!"

Meryl's head snapped back like cold water thrown at her face. She jiggled from Wolf's grip fast, trying to reach Snake. Ocelot made no attempt to catch her nor did Wolf. But Liquid looked mad.

"Meryl! Don't!"

Liquid was quick to punch her, pushing her petite body onto Snake like a piece of garbage. Her ruddy hair rubbed against his face. With each of her hands on his, she rested her head on his chest looking up at him with despair. Which made him almost faltered as he saw cuts and bruises discoloring her face.

"Snake! They are going to kill her!"

He knew who she was referring to. Wolf, for a split second, had a look of sorrow on her. Was she feeling sorry for Meryl? But her hardened expression forced its way back and took Meryl away from his presence, placing her arms behind her back. She laid Meryl down on the bed in the next room across from the room he was stuck in. Meryl got up quickly from the bed and heading towards the window, watching Snake intently with worry. Her face was literally glued to the plastic.

"Sir, what about that Ninja?"

"I don't know but whoever he is, he is some kind of lunatic. Already he has killed twelve of our men."

"How did he get in here?"

"Perhaps there's a spy among us."

Both Ocelot and Wolf looked at each other with the same suspicious glare.

"Well, Ocelot, you're in charge here. I have to prepare Octopus for his mission and overseer some launch preparations. So make this torture show of yours as short as possible."

Liquid crossed his arms.

"Torture? This is interrogation."

"As you wish," Liquid walked forward towards him staring at his eyes. It was like looking into a mirror. A cracked mirror.

"See you later, brother."

Uncrossing his arms, he, with an air of satisfaction, exited the torture room leaving Wolf to ogle him as Ocelot pressed some buttons on the console next to the bed.

"Angel robbed me of a battle that I longed for. She knew I was going to be there. She shouldn't have interfered with my hunt."

Wolf took her index finger and slid it down all the way below the belt. Admiring his body like someone for auction, she wrapped her arms around his neck. Ocelot whistled playfully watching her actions

"You are my prey! Mine alone."

Wolf's cold hand rubbed his cheek and with a precise slit, her nails marked three scratches across his cheeks. He could feel the tinkle of blood dripping to his shoulder.

"I left my mark on you. I won't forget it. Until I kill you, you'll be all I think about. And this time, there will be no interference."

Her finger nails, still dripping with blood, made up to her nose like a wolf scenting its meal. It wasn't a scare tactic but a promise. A promise that she was intending to keep.

"What? You're not going to watch my show?"

Ocelot falsely expressed disappointment as Wolf started to leave. Clenching her fist, she showed that she had something else to do.

"I'm not interested in your sadism."

"Oh…really?"

Wolf was keeping her cool but Ocelot wasn't through.

"Fine. Go feed your dogs and play with that moron of an engineer."

Taking offense, Wolf dangerously moved towards Ocelot. She growled, flashing her pearly white teeth viciously. A revolver faced her chest as she was about to hit him with the same nails she marked Snake with.

"I dare you to try."

"Damn!"

She cursed taking a few steps back pulling a bottle of pills from her pocket hanging down her belt. Popping the lid, three pills hit her tongue with tranquility. Swallowing them, she closed her eyes and reopened them towards Snake. Naughty intent filled her aura.

"Catch you later, handsome."

Silently, she left.

"Once she picks a target, she don't think about anything else. I heard she even falls in love with them before she kills them."

Ocelot looked at the room behind him. Meryl was watching the whole ordeal through the glass that was protected by a chain-like fence. He twirled his revolver around his finger walking from the console towards Snake

"How are you feeling?"

Ocelot held a smirk on his face.

"Not bad. I caught in a nice nap on this revolving bed of yours. Too bad I was sleeping alone."

"Glad to hear that. Let me show you some of its nicer features."

The revolver flipped in the air and Ocelot, still holding the smirk, let the revolver fall back in his finger continuing to spin it.

"Where are my things?"

The old man pointed to a black box that laid on the ground to Snake's left side.

"Right over there."

He stroke the end of his moustache, "Washington was taking quite a chance sending you here. Someone must have a faith in your skill or…" Pointing his revolver square at Snake's head, he twist and turned its gun barrel on his forehead leaving him an imprint, "expendable, carrier boy."

As he placed his weapon back in its holster, Snake was determined to see if he could secretly gain some info.

"So, Metal Gear is armed with a new type of nuclear weapon. A nuke unable to be intercepted by radar."

Ocelot stopped from his steps, "How did you know that?"

Snake remained silent.

"From the traitor, I suppose. That woman knew all kinds of information and her powers could have been very resourceful to our cause."

"What's really going on here?" Snake demanded.

"Why don't you ask Colonel Campbell for the full story?"

"Colonel?'

Snake made a note of that in his mind. He really wasn't looking forward to talking to him. His so-called friend manipulated him into hurting an innocent woman. But partly, he was at fault. He should have known something stunk but he blindly following the information he was given without any doubts. He hated to be a tool to someone else's will.

"All right. Time to get this underway."

Ocelot rubbed the perimeter of the console with glee, "You were holding one card key. Where are the other two? What's the trick behind that key?"

Snake was puzzled, 'Trick?"

"That weasel of a president said that there was a trick to using those keys."

"How should I know?"

Ocelot was unconvinced but that didn't matter to him, "Where is the optic disc?"

"Disc?"

"Don't play dumb. The Darpa Chief says you have it!"

"The Darpa Chief?"

Snake noticed Ocelot's grammar was in present tense, "Chief? The Darpa Chief is dead."

Ocelot looked amused for moment but the look changed back into a more threatening gaze, "You were the only one who was seen last with Baker! Tell me and I will make this easier on you."

"I don't know what you are talking about."

Ocelot shook his head in disappointment, "Americans…lying is second nature to you now, isn't it?"

Ocelot sniffed, "That bed you're strapped down to is wired with volts of electricity. If it's for a short time, it won't kill you. But if you keep on lying to me, the longer the pain becomes. Well...should we begin?"

The room took on an eerie silence as the only sound audible was his breathing and the beeps popping out of Ocelot's console.

_*Beep* _

Ocelot chuckled as he noticed Meryl mouthing pleas. Amused by the idea of an auidence. Snake glanced at her. _Meryl, look away! _Because this wasn't going to be pretty.

_*Beep*_

His spine curved as he took a sharp intake of oxygen. Preparing himself for the unbearable pain...

_*BEEP*_

Sparks of electricity attacked his body in a matter of seconds. Burning not just his skin but his insides as well. His arms tensed and swayed in a frenzy as he could feel his blood boil. Fibers of his muscles tore apart as he strained to fight the pain that surrounded his skull. The bed was worse. It became like a hot iron on his back, sizzling his backskin. Bars that enclosed his wrists and ankles scorched them as he lurched forward trying to break away from this torture. Crackles of electricity swirled his legs, numbing them. His bodily functions ceased to follow his command. His stomach turned like he swallowed sour milk. The oxygen in his lungs spit out smoke and fire.

Then all the pain he felt stopped simultaneously. His body feel limped, danging like a loose piece of rubber. Smoke rose from his body, tickling his nose with a sickening smell.

Ocelot waved his hand in front of his face, smiling at the smell of hot flesh.

"How did you like that? Now, what did you do with that disc?"

"I don't know what you are talking about!"

Ocelot sighed as he pressed the button which made Snake's body lurch in agony as the cackles of blue streaks bit his body, making blood pour down his eyes. This time the pain lasted longer, showing that Ocelot wasn't bluffing.

"Snake!!"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHHH!"

Meryl was watching this whole scene play right in front of her shiny eyes. Cringing at the sight of Snake's suffering, she tried to keep her eyes away. But the screams of pain and hearing that monster laugh as Snake kept on defying him. Banging the unbreakable window, her tears flew freely down her face as her legs gave out underneath her. Bones ached as she tried to contain her crying. Trying to be valiant and tough like Snake. But her attempt failed as the tears came pouring down. Remembering what she went through moments ago, Meryl closed her eyes as the wounds on her back struck her to the past.

"Oh Angel, why did you stop me from telling them what they wanted?"

_We are going to play a game, Meryl."_

Meryl spat out her name "Black Widow". She still couldn't believe her what her eyes saw when she looked upon that woman. Her face was identical to Angel's. They weren't the same though. From what she could tell, Widow was very seductive and she was really a witch in terms of personality. A contrast towards Angel's quiet yet childish innocence. Also, this devilish woman seemed to pleasure herself to the pain of others.

"_You tell me what I want to know and Angel won't get hurt. If you are determined to be stubborn, I will hurt her."_

_Meryl looked at Angel; chains wrapped around her wrists up towards the ceiling just like hers. Her white uniform was stripped bare for the exception of a white tank top that was similar to Meryl's. Angel still was bleeding from her right shoulder and both of her thighs, where both Snake and Meryl shot also noticed scars that she didn't see before on Angel. Her hands were full of scars and on her left arm, a black streak circled her elbow. Meryl winced and felt she had no right to look at Angel. She couldn't forgive herself for trying to kill her._

"_Angel, I'm so sorry. I won't forgive myself for shooting you!"_

"_Forgive yourself, Meryl. Because I forgive you."_

_Suddenly, Angel's face cringed. Her cheeks puffed out as she braved the slashes of Widow's snake-like whip._

"_Be quiet, inferior! Meryl, where is the disc?"_

"_I don't know!"_

_The bitch whipped Angel again, "Now, where is it?"_

"_Angel!"_

_Meryl pleaded for Angel. She hassled her to get Angel to agree with giving them the disc to end this agony. But Angel was stubborn. She shook her head._

"_We are protecting the people, Meryl. They are worth it!"_

_Black Widow was enraged, "You protect people who would rather see you in a pool of blood?"_

"_They are worth it!"_

_Angel screamed with a sense of duty._

_Chains rattled as the woman placed her nine inch heels against Angel's back, stretching her. Angel yelled out as her back felt like it was getting torn apart. Meryl screamed in rage, making Black Widow laugh with pleasure. She just kept on placing more pleasure onto Angel. Getting bored, Black Widow set her sights on Meryl._

_Meryl felt the woman's hands pull her tank top up, exposing her petite back. Purring in surprise, Widow's red lips blew at her ear._

"_It's been awhile since I seen an unscarred back. I just have to change that, wouldn't I?"_

_Meryl's eyes watered as the woman whipped her like she did to Angel. Angel kept on mouthing, "Fight."_

"_You are weak, Meryl. You are a woman who should be playing with dolls."_

_Meryl screamed, "I'm a soldier!"_

_Black Widow was amused as she continued to ridicule Meryl, making fun of her muscles and her small statue. Eventually, Black Widow got bored and huffed in contempt. Two guards answered her quick whistle. They unchained Meryl but left Angel chained._

"_Keep Angel busy as I gave this bitch to Ocelot. Maybe he will have better luck."_

_Smashing her weak body against the wall, Widow sneered at her. Her one hand squeezed her throat, nearing popping her vocal cords._

"_Besides, Angel is my enemy. And whatever happens to her is Snake's and yours fault! Tell that to Snake and see if he realizes his own actions of killing an innocent woman!"_

_With one hard slap, Meryl's body made a thud sound against the tiled floor, knocking herself out. Sharp nails attached to her hips as her body succumbed to helplessness and blackness._

Memories faded back to the present. Her hands skid the surface of the walls behind her. Grabbing the chain-links above her, she pulled herself up. Snake was still getting bombarded with electricity. All she could do was watch and hope this nightmare would end.

"Tell me where the disc is, Snake?"

Snake coughed up blood, "What's so important about this disc?"

"It contains valuable information that I need."

Ocelot left the console and directly stared at Snake's weakening state.

"I must have it. Mother Russia is interested in it."

Ocelot seemed to be in a far away place, "We live in a sad age. Imperialism, totalitarianism, perestroika...Twentifth-century Russia had its share of problems, but at least they had a ideology. Russia today has nothing."

"They are struggling between freedom and order and with that struggle, a new spirit of nationalism has been born."

"The boss has a friend up in the Russian government. He's currently the head of Spetnaz. He's agreed to purchase this new nuclear weapons system. The Hind was just a down payment."

"So you're in this for the money?"

"I don't need money." Ocelot walked back towards the console.

"I want Russia to be reborn. To lead a brave new order."

*_Beep*_

"Shall we try this again?"

_*BEEP*_

Ocelot asked him about the disc again and activated the volts of electricity but Ocelot had a thought on his mind that cut short his interrogation.

"This is no use. You are very strong-willed. But everyone has a weakness."

His moustache twitched with a evil grin. Picking up his radio, he called for the two guards standing near the doorway. Coming in, the two heavy troopers stood at attention.

"Unbind him."

One guard unbind Snake's hands while the other did his ankles. His body fell freely into their arms. Holding him tightly, Ocelot faced the exhausted yet strong soldier with a smirk. WIth his head limped down, Ocelot whispered into his ear.

"I guess the Les Enfants Terribles wasn't that accurate as I thought. But I wonder if the woman is as strong as you are."

The very mention made Snake's head jolt up. _I hit a soft spot._

"Let's found out."

Ocelot jerked his head back. As the soldiers placed Snake into the cell, he watched in amusement as Meryl was forcefully taken. He saw Snake banging on door, calling the foolish woman's name.

"Welcome to my domain, my dear!"

He took a short mocking bow as the guards binded her to his wonderful machine. She was struggling to break free.

"No point in resisting, my dear. You're trapped. Now then, tell me where is the optical disc Baker gave you."

"Go to hell!"

"As you wish."

Ocelot switched the power on and took one last glance towards Solid Snake who glared back at him. _He really does look like him._

Activating the machine, her screams radiated fury on the face of Solid Snake. It didn't matter. He knew Meryl didn't know where it was. This was just for sprite and to get under Snake's skin. And he was enjoying every minute of it.

This was all just a sport to him.

* * *

**Black Widow. Interesting. **

**Ocelot is a bastard, isn't he?**


	31. Waiting

**This maybe my last chapter for awhile guys. It seems that I'm losing inspiration. I will try to get some so I can continue but my brain has completely shut down and is exhausted.**

**I hope it's only temporary.**

* * *

Waiting

Pain. Her whole body twinge with the currents of power that surged through her. Wetness soaked her back as blood dripped to the floor below creating puddles. Swaying back and forth. Entrapped inside a horror she didn't wish to experience.

"My dear, the pain would end if you can tell me where the disc is."

She didn't speak. It was useless to. Her throat was raw with her spit and red as blood. Gargling noises escaped her mouth as she denied Ocelot's question. As the torture increased more, she spotted Snake through the window eyeing her with self-loathing. She noticed Ocelot looking back and forth at Snake and herself. As her eyes seem to boggle at his figure, she realized something… all this torment that she was enduring. All this cruelty…it was all about Snake. Toying with his mind, playing him. She was being tortured just to get a rise out of Snake for that sadist to pleasure himself with. This was revenge for not giving him the information he wanted. But why? Snake hasn't shown any liking towards her. All he did was act cold to her especially after Mantis made her kiss him. Did he really like her? Electricity continued to blaze her insides like fire. Trying to steady herself, she took a long glance at Snake. It was the same face he had when Mantis was trying to blow her brains out. She saw concern...and fear. He was really confusing her but that didn't matter. She will stay strong and she will not let go of life in front of this monster. She will live!

As another set of currents jabbed her skull, she heard a voice call out.

"What is the meaning of this interruption, Widow?"

Widow ignored the glare that Meryl passed her with as she walked closer to the old man.

"I see that you are back to your old self again."

Meryl saw that the long, blond hair Widow had earlier changed to a shorter, darker hair that reached to her neck. Strands of thin black hair curved her forehead. Her blue eyes were now a sage green. Meryl couldn't help but hate that woman.

"The wig and eye contacts were giving me a complex."

The widow touched the end of her bangs, stroking them with smugness.

"I have the disc."

Ocelot's worn eyes looked at her with surprise, "Oh? Angel told you."

"No. I left to go in search of it."

"What happened to revenge?"

Widow blew air, "Wolf."

Ocelot smirked and chortled as Black Widow dug her heels into the cement ground.

"You gave it to the contact?"

"Right under Liquid's nose."

"Good. How's our transport?"

"It should be here soon. I'll make sure Liquid doesn't suspect anything."

"All right."

Before she turned to leave, she took a glance at Meryl. Her eyes dug holes into hers.

"What are you going to do to her? We have what we need."

Ocelot seemed disappointed as he shut down the machine. Widow stepped back as the bed released Meryl from her confinements. Blood splattered all over the floor.

"Pity. I bet she would have made good cannon fodder."

Black Widow mounted Meryl's body on her back, dragging her to Snake's cell with ease. Cautiously, she opened the door quickly to drop off Meryl. Slamming the door instantly as she stepped out, she watched as Snake held Meryl in his arms seeing if she is all right. Snake glared at her as she left the area before his attention was drawn again towards the red head bleeding on his arms.

He caressed her cheek, "Meryl…"

No response.

He shook her gently, "Meryl."

Eyelids quivering, a moan escaped her lips. He didn't know that the shine of her warm, walnut eyes would make him feel relieved that at least she was still clinging on.

"It hurts…"

She softly spoke, eyes half-closed.

"You're all right."

Snatching the thin sheet that covered the bed beside him, he hastily tore off a big enough piece that can tightly be wrapped around Meryl's soaked back. Satisfied with what he tore, he wrapped the thin sheet about four times to make it more dense and snug. Gathering her up in his arms, he placed her on the bed. As he made sure she was comfortable, his ear vibrated. This was the fifth time the codec had rung to gets his attention. During Meryl's torture, Snake was just frozen and full of turmoil of recent events that talking to his shifty support crew will only add to the emotions that he was already enduring.

The Colonel had a face of worry, "Snake, are you okay?"

Her back felt like it had went through a blast furnace. It burned and had an irritated itchy sensation which tormented her more than the slashes themselves. It has been some time since Widow left and it has given her time to catch some sleep before she came back. Though, her sleep was tainted with nightmares. Nightmares about Snake and Meryl. She could sense that they were in trouble. As the slashes on her back hurt, she could feel the pain of Meryl's. So painful…almost like she was dying.

"_No."_

*_Swoosh*_

Freezing wind bashed her back like icicles temporary as the double doors behind her open. Her spine trembled. Well, the fresh air was better than the stale stench of sweat and blood. Quickly, the cold breeze was gone as the doors closed automatically. She heard footsteps but she saw no one.

"Hello."

She shifted her head to see if she could see anything. The crank in her neck was sore as she moved her head to the side trying to see who was walking around. What she didn't know was the person was standing right in front of her…

"I'm here!"

Angel 's eyes blinked in surprise as a man with dark hair wearing a lab coat with light shirt and blue jeans appeared out of nowhere in front of her.

"Dr. Emmerich! What are you doing here?"

Her voice sounded more tired than anything else. Emmerich pushed his wiry glasses back as he bent his knees

"I came to see if you are all right."

"It's dangerous here. You have to get outta here."

Emmerich with his thin hands moved inside his coat and pulled out a roll of bandages and a bottle of water.

"I came here to treat your wounds."

He placed the bottle of water aside as he rolled out some bandages.

"All right but save that bottle of water."

"Huh?"

She interrupted his focus, "But you are losing blood."

"Meryl needs it more than I do."

He tore out some bandage and wrapped it around her right arm where Snake put a bullet through. Her mind raced through the events that happened near the Communications towers. Something told her that Snake didn't want to shoot her but something forced him to do. And Meryl only shot her because Snake did.

Patting down the bandage, Emmerich concentrated on the other two holes on her thighs.

"How do you know that?"

"I have a six sense about these things. I'm an empath."

"Empath?" Emmerich questioned with intrigue, "So that's why…"

Angel nodded her head, "Yup. That means I can feel the emotions of others. Pretty sweet, huh?"

The engineer's face glowed, "Is that all you can do?"

"Nope, I can did more things but I don't want to say what they are."

He noticed a sense of loneliness in her face that made him shut his mouth about the matter, "Oh okay."

She snickered at the sound of disappointment in his tone. But it was cut short when she felt the icy wind hit her back again. She motioned for the man to get out but the glint in the engineer's eyes was not in at least frightened but enamored.

"Wolf!"

He exclaimed loudly which made Wolf hush his enthusiasm. He blushed at his carelessness as she walked into Angel's vision.

"Wolf?"

The sniper was wearing a feminine version of a heavy, white coat wore by the Genome army's Arctic troopers and under her arm was her most cherished PSG-1. Angel always thought she took better care of that weapon than herself.

"Finish bandaging her, Hal."

Angel laughed silently as Emmerich didn't seem aware of the fact that his attention was still drawn towards Wolf's presence. Finally, he snapped out of it and continued to bandage the last bullet hole.

"There," Emmerich proudly tapped her thigh, "Now, let's do the back."

Visions of Meryl laying on a bed sopping in blood with Snake right next to her, his face crumpling with fear and remorse caused her to grunt.

"No…" Angel pushed, "Meryl's in trouble."

"But…but" Emmerich stuttered.

"She's in trouble. Help her."

He was in pure distress, knowing that he had to choose.

"Go. I'll be fine."

The engineer shook his head stubbornly, "No! Your wounds can become infected. You need to be treated!"

"Let me ask you a question, Dr. Emmerich."

Emmerich seemed uneasy as her face grew closer to his. So close that she could see herself in his light brown eyes.

"What's more important; Snake's mission or a foolish, naïve woman?"

He was sweating under the pressure, trying to decide what he should do. She would be too if she was in this predicament, but she had experience while Emmerich never had to decide between life and death. Though, she really didn't have a death wish. She only knew that Meryl needed the attention more than she did.

Angel tried to reassure him, "I won't die."

With his head down, he understood her reasoning, "Okay, I'll see to Meryl."

Picking up the water bottle and the rest of the bandages, he stood up with a heavy sigh. Gazing at Angel, pleading with her to reconsider but she was too inflexible. Emmerich turned on his stealth camo and went on his way towards Meryl. Angel frowned at the situation. It wasn't meant to be this way. The vision of Meryl's dying figure really left her body shaken and seeing Snake in such misery made her heart disturbed. She had a growing attachment to both of them. It was also a shock to herself that she molded a bond with them so easily. Maybe there was something about them that matched herself…something they felt or experienced that made their connections formed with ease. Oh! If she had her codec, she really wanted to talk to them…to tell the truth about herself…the truth of secrets that are hidden from them.

A radio crackled the air interrupting her thoughts. Wolf took out a bulky, two-way radio.

Wolf answered, "Yes?"

She watched as Wolf's stern expression changed into anger. Sitting down her rifle, she grunted as the radio cracked with a voice of sinister yet smooth.

"What? I won't. You said that you would keep her alive."

Suddenly, the radio ended with a click. Wolf clenched her fist, smacking it against the wall beside her, "Damn it!"

Wolf placed the radio against the wall on the opposite side of her. Fiddling with its small mechanics, she took out an ear piece that was easily connected to a hole on the side of the radio. As she took out a small screen…Angel couldn't help but feel dread as Wolf blocked her emotions from her almost immediately after the call ended.

"Wolf? What's wrong?"

Shuffling her rifle forward to her chest, she threw a couple of headphones and a small monitor.

"Call you friends. Because when the radio transmits a message, it will be the end for you."

Wolf's stern expression was hiding the wavering feeling of guilt that she was experiencing. Angel tried to hold a brave face as Wolf aimed her rifle at her head.

"_The_ _government has decided not to get into the terrorists demands."_

"_C'mon Colonel, why don't you stop playing dumb. I want the lies to end now."_

"_We don't want the existence of the genome army to go public."_

"_This has to do with The President's reputation."_

"_So patriotism is your excuse to circumvent the Constitution?"_

"_Forget about the keys. Destroy Metal Gear itself. You're all I got."_

Snake couldn't believe that the United States government was going behind the backs of their own treaties. Eugenics experiments. Testing out a new nuclear weapon. A stealth nuclear weapon at that. It was going against everything this country was suppose to stand for. Right now, Snake just felt disgusted at what the government was pulling. His insides started to burn again just like what it did during his conversation with Naomi.

"_Naomi…please talk to me…say something to take my mind off the pain."_

"_That's not a happy topic for me."_

"_I don't have a family either. No…wait there was a man who said he was my father."_

"_Big Boss? I had no idea."_

"_Only Snake and I know the truth of what really happened there."_

"_You were able to kill him, knowing that?"_

"_Some people just need killing."_

Snake didn't know why he revealed that to Naomi. Maybe it was the pain or he needed the distraction.

"_Friends?"_

"_Roy Campbell"_

"_Frank Jaeger"_

"_We were fighting bare-handed in a minefield. But it was nothing personal. We were just two soldiers doing our jobs. It's like a sport."_

"_That's…that's just plain violence. Murder. It makes no sense."_

"_You're right. It is murder."_

Meryl's sudden moaning traced his mind back to the present. She was tumbling like crazy. Her hands gripping the edges of the bed. Probably having a bad nightmare. After being tortured like she did, it was a normal occurrence especially since this was her first time.

"Snake…"

At first, he thought she wiggled herself out of the unconscious mind but her eyes were still closed as she said his name again and again. Chanting like a prayer. Sweat was present on her forehead. But what Snake was really concern with was her wounds. Gently, he raised the side of her body to see how the sheets were doing. Blood. The whole bed was drenched in it.

"Damn."

The sheets weren't thick enough to hold that much bodily fluids. Snake tried to found more clean sheets but realized that it was futile. He even tried to asked the guard that was watching over their cell for bandages but he was always running to the bathroom every second and now was stuck there. Sounds of flushing and groaning were echoing the bathroom. This was one of those times he wished he had a competent guard watching over him.

_*ring*_

It was his codec again.

*_ring*_

Watching Meryl dying right in front of him, he really didn't want to be bothered by any of those people.

*_ring*_

Reluctantly, he answered but his aggravation disappeared when he noticed Otacon's face appear on the monitor.

"Snake, I'm heading towards you and Meryl. I have some medical supplies that can help with Meryl's wounds."

"All right, Otacon. How far are you?"

"I'm at the Nuclear Storage Building's exit towards the Canyon. I should be with you guys in a short moment."

"Great."

As Snake was about to end the transmission, he noticed Otacon's sober face.

"What is it, Otacon?"

'It's Angel, Snake."

"Angel? Where is she?"

"Near the snowfield. I was going to give her these supplies but she wouldn't let me. She was determined that Meryl get them so I hitched a ride of a cargo truck and got here."

"Is she all right?"

'I don't know, Snake."

Otacon switched off, his face gloomy.

"Snake…"

Meryl's eyes suddenly fluttered opened. Her face was getting more pale. He found it difficult to stare at her without feeling some fault. But somehow he couldn't help but feel some admiration from her for surviving so much torture and the ordeals that she went through with Mantis.

"Snake, how are we going to get out of here?"

He remained silent, Still unsure. Otacon should be arriving here soon maybe he could help them. It was their only shot.

"Snake!"

That wasn't Meryl's voice and it was too feminine to be Otacon's. He turned around to see who was talking to him when he figure out that it was coming from his within his ear. And the face that awaited him…was the last person he expected.

"Angel…"

* * *

**Angel 's an empath? What's an empath, you say? Well, I'll explain that on the next chapter but right now, this is going on HIATUS for some time. I'm sorry guys.**

**Stupid writer's block! If everyone can give me advice on treating this, I'll be happy to listen! **


	32. Escape

**This chapter took alot of thought and processing. Heh! I hope you guys like it.**

* * *

Escape

"Angel."

She was a mess; tired and sweaty. Her hair was tangled into the air spreading out like she hadn't combed in months, sticking on her face like glue. The scar on her right cheek reddened with irritation and her blue eyes still sparkled with childlike perception but showed signs of exhaustion.

Her voice, though, was amazingly optimistic and strong, "Snake, it's good to see that you're okay.

"Is Otacon there yet?"

"No, he isn't but he should be here shortly."

"How's Meryl?"

Meryl, half-covered in blood, looked up at him, "She remaining strong."

"That's good."

Snake nodded his head as his eyes examined the area. There was still no trace of Otacon yet.

"Snake…" she seemed a little uncertain towards the words she spoke, "do you believe in a purpose?"

"Purpose?"

"You know…like we were all born on Earth for some role or goal to contribute to the world."

"Why are you asking me this?"

"This is why I'm here. To find mine. You see…"

Angel paused and her lips pressed, "No…it's nothing. You wouldn't want to hear this anyway."

He needed some distraction…anything to speed up the time, "I got nothing better to do."

Her demeanor changed into an offensive posture, "Oh! Now, you want to talk to me. That's great. Wait for a woman to be near death…then everything is free reign, isn't it?"

Snake was shocked at her aggressiveness, "This isn't..."

"You didn't give a damn before. Why do you now?"

"Because..."

Knives stabbed his insides. He gritted his teeth as the sharp pain ran through his body. It was the same pain consumed him as Naomi talked about herself.

"Snake, are you okay?"

"Angel, I'm sorry. You don't have tell…"

He was about to switch off when Angel let out a cry, "Wait!"

She felt that honest apology, making herself feel ashamed, 'I'm sorry I shouldn't be mad at you. Who wants to hear a misfit's story anyway?"

"Misfit?"

"My parents called me that…"

Angel's head stared at the ground. The air grew still and a sense of worthlessness whispered towards his ear, "I was the trivial daughter of stingy senators. Being a rich kid wasn't fun. I was home schooled and in between weekends I was forced to read about political science and everything about politics. My parents were manipulators. Making sure every aspect of my life was devoted to the purpose they wanted me for. I just got sick of it and it didn't help the fact that they hated me too."

"Your parents hated you? Why?"

"They hated me for two things; that I was a girl and that I was a freak."

"A freak?"

"When I was four years old, I had this ability to gain a sixth sense of other people's emotions. It was astonishing and frightening at the same time. As I aged, my empathic abilities grew stronger...so strong I could talk inside people's minds. That's when I found out about my parent's true feelings and intentions. My parents didn't like it and called me a demon child. They locked me up in my room when other people showed up. Do you know what keep me from going insane with loneliness and despair?"

When he didn't answer, she exclaimed proudly, "Books!"

"Books?"

"Espionage and adventure. And the Bible!"

"Bible?"

"That's why I changed my name and got my codename from."

"What's your real name?"

"My real name?"

Angel pondered this for a minute then she grinned, "You first."

Snake grumbled.

"Oh! Come on, Snake. Let's make a deal. If you and I survive this, we must tell each other our name. Deal?"

Snake grinned, "Deal."

"Good."

"How did you get into Foxhound, Angel?"

"Oh, that's an interesting story. When I turned ten, my parents decide that they had enough of their rebellious daughter. At first, I thought they were going to kick me out but what they did was much worse."

"What did they do to you?"

"They gave me to the government."

Snake could feel a spike of anger radiate from Angel as she spat, "Those pencil pushers locked me up in a high security level complex, experimenting on my powers of control and mental perception. It was hell. Many times I tried to escape from that place. Many times I had failed. It wasn't until I was thirteen when I finally got smart to the security that I escaped. When the government found out, they decided to recruit me into the military. I was only thirteen! I didn't want to go into the military."

"Then why did you join Foxhound?"

"Because of him…"

Her emphasis on "him" stroke a chord. A chord of affection yet mourning.

"Big Boss."

"Big Boss?"

"Yes, the greatest warrior of the twentieth century. He became intrigued about an empath who can sneak out one of the most protected government complexes in the United States."

"Empath?"

"That's what I was labeled as," Angel laughed, "Sounds better than demon, doesn't it?"

"Big Boss took me in as a counselor because he knew that I wasn't the soldier type. Still, I got to see a lot of action. Battlefields littering streets of civilian cities. Innocent lives tore apart. Soldiers lying in ditches disgraced or getting captured without no help of rescue. I hated that. I hated all of that! That's when I got the concept of Heaven."

Angel gave Snake a smirk, "I know your people must have told you about that."

"That's where I met Black Widow. She was my second in command."

"Who is she?"

"She was a mercenary from Outer Heaven. She escaped before it exploded. The United States government bought her contract as an assassin. The only thing I knew about her was that she was born in China. Her family didn't want a daughter. They wanted a son so when she was born, she was discarded on the sidewalk because of the China's one-child rule. The PLA found her and the rest…I don't know. She never told me."

"Well…" She sighed, "at first, everything was going well until Black Widow mutinied. She called me a rich brat and falsely accused me of working with the government in spying on my unit. My own unit!"

Her voice raised outrageously, "My powers of reading other people's emotions made my own troopers question me. But that wasn't what they all hated…it was the bonding power that I had."

The word was etched in his head ever since she mentioned that word back at the Communication towers, "Bonding?"

"I bond with people I grow attached to and it makes it easier for me to go inside their head and feel what they feel. See what they see mentally. It's an exciting power that I use to empathize with people to understand them. But some people didn't want it. I tell them that it is hard to control but my unit wouldn't listen. Black Widow had them wrapped in her little sultry fingers. They all attacked me and nearly left me for dead. I didn't fight back."

"Why?"

"I was loyal to them. Look at this world around you, Snake! Loyalty is no more. People changed their ideals if it suits their interests. They forget what they are fighting for and become what they hate."

Suddenly, her voice cracked. Her eyes watered with pounds of tears streaming down her cheeks. Face flushed with resentment with herself.

"Angel…what about the bond with me?"

"You hate me, don't you. I make you sick, don't I?"

Snake softly spoke "Angel…"

His quietness took her by surprise, "You don't hate me?"

"No."

The thought of someone inside his head was very unsettling. He was irritated that she formed a bond with him without his consent but it slowly faded into a sea of penitence knowing that it seemed hard for her to maintain control. Watching her…listening to her voice and seeing the innocence in her eyes. Her face. Eyes of loneliness, misery with a mix of childish prudence...it didn't seem right to hold any grudge or hate towards this woman.

"Why did you form a bond with me?"

"You're cute."

He grunted, unsatisfied by her answer.

"I guess it's because of Big Boss. I bonded with him just as easy as I did with you. Maybe I thought I could save him through you."

"Save him?"

"Big Boss betrayed me too."

The tear stains on her cheeks turned to black filth as her red eyes blinked rapidly to splash the water from her eyes which bottled up on her eyelids.

"I fought him. I tried to tell him that his plan wouldn't never work and would only lead to destruction but he was beyond reasoning. He left me in the hands of our government and they exiled me from United States, revoking my citizenship."

"Why?"

"My unit commited treason, joining Big Boss' independence. But who takes the fall for the unit's actions? The young, naive commander."

"So how did you get back?"

"Liquid found me. He offered me back into the States by joining his Foxhound unit. I guess it was his way of repaying a debt. But it took me awhile to say yes because Foxhound in itself was changing dramatically and I didn't like it. I joined reluctantly. But I was glad to be back in America again. I was getting homesick but..."

She gulped and tried to keep her voice calm, indifferent, " As you can see, betrayal has knocked on my doorstep yet again. Well, story of my life...you would think I would have got used to being betrayed right now. I guess I'm a slow learner. Snake..."

The sound of a gun cocking interrupted her sentence, making her compassionate eyes flinch as a shadow of a barrel glinted against her left eye and nose.

"Angel?"

"Snake...don't be such loner. Be with people. Complicated as they will be, it is better to live for someone else than to die by oneself. Promise me you will reconsider this life."

"I'll promise."

"Thank you, Snake."

"I think that's enough of that."

A heavy accent spoke out from the codec. Angel was replaced by a woman whose eyes were a much darker blue than hers and much more colder and older. Her blond hair pricked her cheekbones like tiny blades. Ruby-colored lips purred in excitement and hunger as she looked upon Snake dangerously. This was the same woman he saw in the torture room.

"Wolf!" Snake growled.

"Oh! So you know who I am. I'm touched!"

"Where's Angel?" Snake glared at her.

"She's right next to me. Don't worry no harm will come to her...yet unless you meet me at the snowfield."

"Snowfield?"

"It's below the Communications Tower. Meet me there in thirty minutes alone or innocent blood will be spilled."

"Wait! Give me more time!"

But Sniper Wolf switched off without answering him.

"Damn!"

He cursed. Thirty minutes wasn't enough time. Here he is stuck in this cell and he has no clue where they are actually from the Communications Towers. If only Otacon moved his butt...

"Snake, I'm here!"

Speak of the devil, Snake stood up trying to see where the voice came from, "Where?"

Snake peered into the small window etched on the cell door. Appearing in a flash of static was the scrawny man he had been patiently waiting for...

"Otacon!"

Otacon adjusted the position of his glasses. His nose twitched in disgust, " Jeez...It's animal cage in here."

An aroma of blood stunk the whole area. Snake didn't even noticed the smell until the engineer mentioned it. Maybe his nose got used to such a smell since it was the stench he had to sniff almost every day of his life.

Snake stepped to the side, showing Otacon Meryl's condition and the origin of the smell.

The engineer's eyes widened in horror at the sight of the red head laying on a bed soaked in blood, "Is she…?"

"She's alive."

He even doubted his own words but the rising and falling of her chest comforted him a small bit, "Do you have the supplies?"

"Yeah."

The man's pale, skinny hands searched his deep lab coat pockets, pulling out a water bottle and rolls of bandages in front of Snake. Fitting them both through the small hole, Snake hastily uncapped the bottle of refreshing water as the bandages dangling from separate fingers. Sitting the roll of bandages and the cap aside, he gently slipped his hand to the back of Meryl's head. Tipping her head, he placed the bottle on her lips and slowly wetting her tongue and raw throat. Her eyes became fully opened as the water cured the drowsiness that she had been fighting ever since she laid on that firm, blood-stained bed. Snake keep filling her mouth with cold yet revitalizing fluid until she felt like he was trying to drown her. She coughed, spitting water on his face and arm.

"Meryl, are you feeling better?"

"Yeah," her voice was still a little weak.

Seeing that she seemed to be okay, he popped the lid back on the bottle. He felt the bandana on her head. The knot was still secured snugly around the gash she got back in the Commander's room. The dark green fabric was soft yet had seen better days. He wondered how Angel got it. The conversation they had earlier still rumbled inside his skull. He tried to focus but for some odd reason, it kept on rewinding itself back and forth in a continuous loop. But one word stuck out like a sore thumb.

"_Live."_

He didn't seem to notice that Meryl was staring at him. To her point of view, he was gazing at her eyes, burning them with his thoughts. It made her feel a little awkward.

"Snake."

His fingers were still touching and rubbing the bandana on her head. Meryl caught his wrist, "Are you okay?"

Closing his eyes sharply, he shook himself from his thoughts. Turning his eyes away from Meryl, he grabbed the rolls of bandages. He was about to lift her shirt when she caught his wrist again. At first, he thought she was being modest but he realized that a woman who doesn't wear a bra and hides things inside her own chest made feel indifferent to such actions.

"What?"

"Let me. I can handle it," she gently took the roll of bandages and gave a small smile to reassure him.

She lied. She still was a little woozy from losing so much blood. Her head was so foggy and full of cobwebs that she thought her brain left her in that torture chair along with her dignity. Man, if she found that old man again, she wanted to put him in that bed and see how he loved the taste of his own medicine! Bastard. Besides, another reason was that she was tried of being babysitted by Snake. It made her feel weak and shameful. She's a soldier not a princess who needs to be rescued every time.

Gathering her legs from bed, she tried to stabilize herself as she slowly got up. Snake was still watching her with a cautious eye as she walked to the far corner end of the room. She took off her tank top and dropped it uncaringly as she started to bandage her slashes. Her slashes were all over her tiny back. Widow paid no expense to make Meryl suffer from the whip she used. If she ever saw that woman again...she noted to pay her the same respect.

"Snake, here's a security level six card."

Otacon waved the card in Snake's face, gaining his attention back, "This should get you out of this torture room."

He grabbed the card and slid it to the side of his pants, using it's tight fit to substitute a pocket in the meantime.

"Also…"

The glasses on the scientist's nose again slipped to the tip of his nose as he pulled out a white fabric up towards Snake, "take this too."

Eyeing the smooth fabric, Snake cocked his eyebrow.

"What is this?"

"It's a handkerchief. I got it from Sniper Wolf."

"Why?"

"I don't know but she's nice to me."

His short laugh caught Otacon in surprise, "Sounds like Stockholm syndrome to me."

"I was taking care of the dogs here. When the terrorists took over, they were planning on shooting them but Sniper Wolf stopped them. She even let me feed when I ask. She loves dogs. She must be a good person."

His eyes pleaded, "Please don't hurt her!"

"Wake up, you idiot!"

He jammed his fist against the steel, making Meryl and Otacon jump at his sudden hot temper.

"That woman isn't as sweet as you think!"

The three scratches she left him that still stung like hell disagreed with the word "good".

Meryl made sure that her slashes were well-covered. The bandages covered her breasts all the way to her stomach neatly. She rolled some more to double the layer she already had. When she was finally satifised, she patted the white, firm straps gently. Putting her shirt back on, she walked from the dark corner towards Snake who was yelling at Otacon.

"The terrorists are planning to watch a nuclear weapon. I have to stop them."

Minding the fact that he had to get to the snowfield to save Angel.

"Then you have to go to the Communications Towers."

"First, you have to get us outta of here. The guard has the key. You have to take him out!"

"Are you crazy? I'm no soldier! I can't take anyone out."

"You have to!"

"I'll be…"

"Hold it right there!"

Otacon jumped in fright, putting his hands up in the air. Snake only could watch as the guard raised his rifle up, moving closer to the whimpering scientist.

Meryl held her hands close to her mouth as the guard dangerously grew nearer towards Otacon. From the corner of her eye, she saw a flash of a figure behind the guard. It was so fast that she thought it was just her imagination until the guard was suddenly thrown back with such force that the wind itself knocked him unconscious.

"Fox!"

Meryl was confused as she saw Snake staring at the invisible force. Gradually, the field of stealth was lifted as some sort of ninja appeared through the small hole. Otacon was whimpering even more as the ninja looked at him. His red eye glow with much intensity. His sword rose from above his head.

"Fox! No!"

Snake yelled. As the sword was dragged down, they heard the sound of scratching metal. Their cell door was slashed down the middle and the pieces fall down like pasteboard. The ninja cut the air with the flicker of his silver sword before he went invisible again. Otacon was still on the ground, shaking.

"Snake, you escaped!"

Mei Ling's cheerfulness rung against his ear, "When walking through a melon patch, don't adjust your scandals."

"What?"

"It means when things get really bad, you have to try and remember what's important."

Snake realized what she meant, "You are talking about Angel, aren't you?"

"Yes, I'm sorry. She saved your life but I would want to think she wouldn't want you to risk your mission for her."

He knew she was right. The mission was important, much more than the life of one person. He hated that but all he could do for now was forget about Angel to avoid distractions.

"Snake," Nastasha fogged the screen with the smoke of her cigarette, "did I hear you say that they are launching a stealth nuclear warhead?"

"Yes, they are."

The shock caused her to lose her smoke, "What the hell?"

Gathering herself, she tipped over to grab another cigarette, "This is madness! If the other countries found out what is transpiring here, the United States would be denounced by the UN and the President's power will crumple. We will never be trusted ever again! What have those damn old fools done?"

"Nastasha!"

"But Colonel!"

"Snake, take Meryl and yourself to Metal Gear Rex's base and destroy it!"

"Nastasha is right, Colonel."

The Colonel remained silent. He also knew the risk.

Snake just blew an air of contempt as he turned the codec off. Meryl was helping Otacon up from the cold floor. Since everything was under control, he rushed to the red lid black box near the torture bed where their equipment was. Flipping the lid, the torso part of his sneaking suit, laid neatly folded with his .45 and Meryl's Desert Eagle on top of it. Also, his belt of pockets and gun holders was against the wall of the bulky box. Taking his suit first, he slipped it on, feeling its rubbery texture. The dark thermal vest heated his bare chest in the matter of seconds. Clipping his belt around his waist, he placed the .45 safely in his gunholder. As he picked up the Desert Eagle, Meryl snatched it from his hands before he could do anything.

"Oh no, you don't!"

She smirked as she unbent her body. Her arm tilted to her side with the barrel of the gun pointing upwards. Still wearing that smirk, she placed the pistol through her back belt. Staring at the box, she noticed something still inside, laying there.

"There is something else in here."

Snake grabbed the small pistol. He examined the weapon. The fluorescent lights reflected the dull, black coloring. It was light as a feather and none of his gun holders were small enough to hold it. As he gazed upon the feeble weapon according to today's standards, he remembered seeing this weapon some place before…

"_Big Boss, I never seen that weapon before."_

"_It's the only one of its kind and a very resourceful tranquilizer."_

"_But…it's so old and feeble."_

"_Appearance means little. Function is the only concern. You see, kid? This gun has a dampening field inside it to hide a soldier's signature from radar. It's usefulness is absolute: small, quiet, and effective. Wonderful for every secret operation. Though, it's original creator only made one and he never did tell how he did it…"_

"_Why does it have a ribbon wrapped around it?"_

"_If you must know, it's a gift for someone. That's all I'm going to say. Right now, Fox is waiting for you in the training room. Better move your behind."_

"That's Angel's," Meryl pointed out, broke his thoughts abruptly.

Hearing Angel's name, he could feel the ticking of a clock in his head, reminding him about the time limit.

"We need to find her Snake!"

"I know Meryl. She's at the snowfield below the Communications Towers. Sniper Wolf is also waiting there."

Otacon frozen in shock, "Wolf is waiting for us?"

Snake noticed his nervousness, "Yeah and we have only thirty minutes to get there or she will kill her."

"Well.." Meryl cocked her weapon, "what are we waiting for? Let's go already!"

With his free hand, Snake briskly checked his pockets seeing that the PAL card was still safe and also many of his rations and gadgets. Without a second thought, the trio exited the room to find even more bad news. The whole scenery around them looked familar; the elevator and the walls matched the 1st floor basement. Way back where they started. Skidding his back against the wall on his right, he peeked outside of the corner that lead towards the holdings cells just to make sure no guards were patrolling. There were no guards but he saw an individual standing in a pool of dried blood that was left by the soldiers' which both Snake and Meryl had to fight through. The man had his back turned with his hands deep inside the pockets of his black pants. Snake sidestepped sneakily from the covering of the wall and stood in the center of the hall. Meryl was about to follow but Snake put his palm up, signaling a "no". Slowly, he crept closer to the man.

"So you escaped? I'm glad."

The man turned around with a huge grin on his face, writing a sense of relief and contentment. Snake jolted a step back, still aiming at the man startled at what he saw. The face of a man he saw murdered right in front of his eyes was standing right in front of him unscathed. Was it ghost or was he really...?

"The Darpa Chief!"

* * *

**Whoa! I got you guys there! HAHAHA!!! Wooooo! Bet you guys didn't see that coming.**


	33. To The Communication Towers

**Hmmm...I wish I could spoil you guys about my plans but it would ruin the fun!**

* * *

To The Communication Towers

Meryl and Otacon joined Snake on each side of him both wearing expressions of awe. Snake still had Angel's tranquilizer trained at the African-American man in front of him. He still couldn't believe that the Darpa Chief can be alive especially with the onslaughter of bullets he suffered from. But the shocking thing is…this man looks like he hadn't even been in a battle. Assault rifles could rip apart a man in the matter of minutes especially in close range. But this man was clean; no blood spots or even bullet holes across the chest area where he was supposedly shot at.

"How can you be alive?!"

Snake demanded as the man grabbed the head of his red, yellow polka dotted tie and slid it side to side.

"You have your friend, Angel, to thank for that but I don't have time to explain. We must get to the Communications Towers quickly. "

The Darpa Chief squeezed between Snake and Meryl to get to the elevator behind them. His index finger pressed for the elevator to come to them. The elevator car roar loudly as the double doors hummed from the vibration it released. Snake placed his EZ gun aside. The chief waved at them.

"Come, I know a shortcut that will get us to the Communications Towers even to the Snowfield quicker!"

The three followed the Darpa Chief into the elevator and rode all the way down in silence because their expressions told everything. Snake looked at Otacon who seemed to be alittle anxious but he was always nervous ever since he met the skinny man in his lab. But that was a frightening nervousness…this was different. He seemed worried about something or someone desperately. Snake turned his attention towards Meryl. Her face was full of determination probably to get back at those bastards for what they did to her and also, to rescue her friend, Angel. He wanted to rescue her too…just to repay the times she saved him. Noticing a line of white peering through Meryl's tank top as she stretched her arms, flashes of her strapped to the torture machine flew through his head again. Her screams of rescue and agony made his blood boil hot with fury. But the powerlessness he felt watching the currents of electricity bombarding her small, fragile body that was much more frightening. He promised the Colonel he would look after her. At first, he thought of her as just another body to carry. Now…it felt more than just that…it felt more personal…like he really truly did want to protect her but there was another emotion he was feeling that he couldn't describe…so overwhelming…so stiffing that it terrified him. He shook his head from such distracting thoughts. There was enough to worry about…like how the Darpa Chief could be standing right in front of him and Metal Gear.

The Darpa's Chief surprising return made her mind split with mixed emotions. His presence was unnerving. Shots of his supposedly dead corpse backtracked her mind to the place where she experienced her first gunfight and her very first kills. At first, she was disgusted at herself for killing people but the feeling numbed down. Probably because of the psychotherapy but also because of her awareness of the situation thanks to Snake. That pep talk, if she could call it that, Snake gave her in the bathroom still rung inside her head.

"_This isn't a training exercise. Our lives are depending on this. There are no heroes or heroines. You lose you die a dog's death."_

Survival was the key word here. That was war was all about. Maybe after all of this is down, she should think really think this through. Remembering what Angel told her in the girls' bathroom, Meryl realized that she was still young and that she should really not run into another battlefield rashly or without much contemplation. But for right now, if she was going to live to see her future, she had to throw all those feelings aside and help Snake complete his mission like the soldier she wanted to be. Turning her neck, she stared at Snake wondering what he was thinking about. Was he thinking about the mission? Was he thinking about Angel? He was so hard to read. When his eyes met hers, she momentarily froze. She often wanted to ask him many questions about his life. Well, she tried that once but all she got was a slap in the face. Maybe…she could ask him again after the mission…when a nuclear weapon wasn't hanging over their heads.

The doors opened exposing the completely empty Tank Hangar. Meryl had her weapon drawn far from her face, aiming randomly just in case guards were trying another ambush. Snake, right behind her, was doing the exact same thing. There was no one around. The cargo bay doors were closed because nerve gas trap he had to suffer through before Angel rescued him.

"Where do we go from here?"

His question directed towards the man who should have been dead.

"This elevator should take us to the surveillance room."

The Darpa Chief pointed towards the double doors beside the cargo bay doors.

Meryl placed her arm out to halt the three men, "Wait, what about the security system? Alarms will flare if we step one foot inside that elevator."

"Don't worry. The security systems have been disarmed."

The Darpa Chief called for the elevator doors to open for the four who entered right behind him."

"So, where are we headed?"

Otacon spoke towards the businessman.

"We will follow the underground path to the Nuclear Warhead Storage Building. I'll open the doors that separate that building from the snowfield."

Snake jolted from the word, "Snowfield?"

"From there, the blast furnace should be not far. There should be a freight elevator that will lead us to Metal Gear's underground base."

_*Chime*_

The double doors opened, exposing them to the surveillance room. It was exactually how she left it, except for the unconscious body of Liquid with his head inside the broken screen she threw him at. Though, she did see the screens were all turned off, reflecting the four through the glass.

Otacon examined the broken screen, "What happened here?"

"Liquid was holding me hostage here."

"Here when?" Snake asked.

"This is where I opened the cargo bay door for you. Liquid caught me but I took care of him."

"This pathway would lead us to the Nuclear Warhead Storage Building."

The chief pointed out towards the rock wall tunnel that had a stairwell at the end leading towards an old fashioned door.

"Meryl, why didn't you direct me here instead of the cargo bay?"

He could have avoided being gassed and almost blown up by the tank driven by Vulcan Raven.

"Didn't you hear me earlier? If you would have stepped one foot in that elevator, the whole place will go off."

'How did you get past security, then?"

Meryl placed her hands on her hips, aggravated at Snake's loss of memory.

"Because of my disguise as one of them, remember?"

"Right."

Snake broke contact with her real quickly, rebuking himself.

"Are you all right, Snake?"

"Yes." He bluntly stated as he picked up the pace upstairs.

"I think he is worried about Angel."

Otacon whispered to her.

"You think so?"

"She saved your life in expense of her own."

"What?"

"You see…I was going to give her bandages to wrap the wounds on her back but she stopped me. She told me that you needed them more than she did. It was like she knew that you were in danger."

Otacon's eyes were amazed, "Her eyes were so beyond…it was…"

The skinny man rubbed his eyes, "Sorry, if this sounds crazy but for a moment, I saw your pain in her eyes. So, I ran off to help you but I think it was more for Snake's sake."

"Snake's sake? What do you mean?"

"What I mean is…."

"Otacon!" Snake sharply cut off the engineer's sentence. He didn't want Otacon to put ideas into Meryl's head. No matter how true his statement was.

"How did you survive?"

Snake questioned the chief.

"Your friend, Angel lend me a hand. Before they put her in the cell across from me, she packed my body with armor and blood packs so that I could appear dead just in case things gone awry. "

As they climbed the stairways, the Darpa Chief paused and placed his hand over her heart like he was touched from some divine power.

"Poor woman…she's been though a lot. I hope she's still alive."

It was more of a voice of reliance than concern towards Snake's ears.

"By the way, I heard about Baker. Dying from a heart attack, is that true?" The chief inquired.

"Yes."

The sounds of the old man's labored breathing and the sight of his limp body going cold still remained fresh in Snake's mind.

"So, it's true. The Pentagon have finally perfected the biological weapon."

"Biological weapon?"

The chief didn't answer his question. "Did Baker give you a disk?"

"No."

"Really? Are you sure?"

"I just said no."

An uncharacteristic defensiveness hit him like a brick wall. He wondered why he was so defensive of that question.

Even Meryl was wondering about it. Snake remained quiet as he opened the door, leading them inside the N.W.S.B. The all too familiar columns and columns of nuclear weapons enclosed in cardboard boxes made her shiver. Even though she was used to seeing weapons of mass destruction, she swallowed the panic back in her throat as Snake, Otacon, and her followed the Darpa Chief, who was trailing a path of snow crumbs that were blowing from the outside.

"This door was locked when I was here."

The Darpa Chief smirked at Snake, "I opened it before I meet you. Good thing too. It was almost too frozen to do any good."

Snake looked up at the moonless sky as the Darpa Chief directed his attention towards the Communications Towers, which reached the sky. Grabbing the edge of the railings, Snake jumped over to land right deep into the snowfield. Meryl copied him as Otacon and the Darpa Chief climbed down the ladder solid to the corner below. The snowfield wasn't just empty wide open like it sounded. Trees sprouted from the pure snow sitting at the branches of other trees crowded the snow with dark shadows. Instead of a snow wonderland, it was horror. Hidden wolves howl inside the shadows of tree barks and fallen leaves. They were like chickens without heads when Snake noticed a valley of light at the left side. The valley was the hallway which Meryl and him both got captured from. He couldn't see the ground but the structure's familiarity didn't leave a doubt in his mind. Ropes on their far right side still remained there untouched from where the guards ambushed Snake and Meryl. Scratching the back of his neck, the Darpa Chief seemed perplexed at the long faces that Snake and Meryl conveyed. Powerful gusts of wind made Meryl slip on the slippery edge. As her left leg dangled out, Snake grabbed her elbow and push her against him. Sounds of razor sharp rotor blades emerged behind them, carrying a huge gunship which made Snake's instincts urged him to move.

"It's the Hind D! Head towards the ropes, now!"

She didn't see any ropes but followed Snake's fast movements. It didn't help much with bullets splashing snow on her face, making her eyes itch with water. He grabbed one of the ropes and yelled for her to move it. The Darpa Chief was way ahead of Snake, panting heavily as his fingers slid his whole body down. Meryl slid down and curses at the sky when bullets cut the rope, making Snake and Meryl falling down the rest of the way.

Anderson cleaned the snow from his shoulders and wiped snow from his coarse hair. Snake and Meryl did the same.

"Wait a minute!"

The Darpa Chief was in panic, "Where's Dr. Emmerich?"

"Otacon!"

Snake yelled out but there was no reply.

"You don't think he is still up there?!"

Meryl's hands grabbed her hair in shame. Snake tried ringing Otacon from his codec. There was no answer. He was about to quit when Otacon's face appeared, breathing hard.

"Otacon! What the hell?"

"I was too slow. My ankle twisted again so to not get you guys killed, I switched on my stealth camo and ran forward to the Communications Tower B. The one behind where you guys are heading. I'll meet you guys on the roof. There's a walkway that connects both towers on each roof."

"Great, we will meet you there but be careful, if that Hind D shows up…"

"Don't worry. I'll just go inside. No heroics."

Meryl and the Darpa Chief gazed at him, "Otacon's all right. We will met him on the rooftop of the second Communications Towers."

So much for their shortcut. The pilot of the Hind D surely was waiting for them and probably, on purpose, force them back into this hallway which now spawned rats, crawling on the beams holding up the short platform where that sniper woman took pot shots at Meryl, Angel, and him. Looking back at the cave exit, he could still see Angel's blood on the ground. Ironically, the blood was shaped like an angel.

Moving inside the Communication Towers, the fluorescent lights above them whizzed nosily as they crossed another doorway. A rope laid on stacked cardboard boxes squeezed in one corner. Feeling the texture of the rope, he confirmed it was nylon which was great for weather like this. He strapped it on his belt while he joined Meryl who found a gated elevator. Stairs enclosed around the gated chain of mechanisms that worked the small elevator. As they all three got in, he grunted at how small it was especially towards personal space.

"Well, better than the stairs!"

Meryl exclaimed as her shoulder spiked his accidentally. Riding along the elevator, he couldn't help but remember the interference from the Hind D. He knew that person was probably following their move and waiting for them to reach the roof so they could be shot up. But the only way to get to the walkway and snowfield was through the path that was destinate to begin with.

The elevator gradually lost its speed and stopped at the marked floor. A ladder on their right side led them to ice-colored metal that was like freezer. Stepping off the ladder, they exited the small room from the door ahead on their right side.

Snake was the first to feel wind ripped through his face like frozen needles. A huge satellite on their left revealed the connection walkway.

"Meryl…take the Darpa Chief and cross the walkway to the other side"

Doing as she was told, she lightly held the man's elbow and guided him at the same pace as herself. Before she placed her foot on the steel, chainlink platform, she turned around to see Snake still standing, not moving a muscle.

"Snake, aren't you coming?"

"I'm coming."

The chief and her walked up the short, chained steps, passed through the communications satellite. Peeking over the railings to see nothing but darkness like looking into space, she gladly thanked the person who made these railings because she feared that she would have fallen. Though, heights weren't the worse thing she had to deal with.

The roof of the second Communications tower was a tad different than the first one. She half-expected to see Snake right behind her when a gust of flames blew a few feet back against a air control unit. The back of her head collided with the metal, causing her eyes to black out.

Everything happened so fast. Missiles coming out of nowhere lunged through the satellite, tearing into flames of debris. His elbow covered his forehead and eyes as the force of the explosions blew at him with unforgiving grace. Holding his ground, he waited until the powerful wind died down before he uncovered his eyes. When he did, his eyes couldn't believe what he saw.

A clear area with no sign of the walkway.

"Meryl!"

He didn't know if they crossed all the way or not.

"Meryl!"

Only the picking up of wind's strength answered him. Panic seemed to leap onto his words as his heart seem to stop.

"Meryl!"

Running towards the burnt edge, he knew that it was a waste of time to look below as the ground was more than ten feet below. But he had to see if…

The sound of rotors hitting against the wailing wind made him twisted back. Flying above the dark sky like a monster was the Hind D. Gushes and gushes of wind pounded his body as the Russian chopper stared at him. He narrowed his eyes, trying to see who was piloting the chopper, but the pilot was swallowed in darkness until he heard the crackle of laughter…one that you would hear coming out of a wicked witch.

"Well….if it isn't the famous Solid Snake…"

He hissed, "Black Widow."

"I'm sorry that I have to deprive your brother of his sweet chance for revenge but I have my orders. You…Solid Snake! Have become a thorn in my side and you must be eliminated before you disrupt anymore of this operation."

"Operation? What operation?"

"Foxdie should had killed you already but you seem to be a stubborn individual."

"Foxdie?!"

"_Foxdie…"_

The same word that Master told him before dying.

"What the hell is Foxdie and what does it have to do with me?"

"Ask your precious Colonel!"

Her voice than chortled, "I will give you a hint, though because I'm feeling generous. It has to do with Gray Fox and his sister!"

"Sister? What?"

Snake didn't know Fox had a sister. Their relationship was only professional though.

"So you didn't know that Fox's sister has been in contact with you this whole time? Oh…Snake, you are such a pawn. Liquid was right."

He snarled at the word "pawn".

"That's enough talk. Time to die!"

Snake desperately looked around the roof. Nothing but open space. Rotary cannons on both sides of the chopper started spinning, spitting out 26mm rounds. He side jumped avoiding the explosion of bullets colliding to one another. Gazing over the nearest railing, he could make out a walkway…that connected to the second one. Perfect…but it was a long way down.

"I can use the rope I have."

Knoting one end of rope to the railing, he promptly threw the rest of it down. A second round of bullets came towards him as he jumped over the railing and started rappelling his way down towards the walkway below. Carefully walking down the side wall of the Communication Towers, his feet rested against a metallic beam that connected to many others wrapped around the tower and continued down below. Also, stream pipes ran down both sides of the concrete wall.

"_I better do this fast before the…"_

Too late. The Hind D appeared behind him, close enough for him to see that widow lady blow him a kiss. As a way of taunting him, she purposely fired below him, punctuating holes in the stream pipes. Stream hissed like crazy. He jumped and pushed his legs against the beam, sliding down avoiding the hot stream and bullets. Skillfully, he successed in avoiding the stream when a line of bullets cut the rope above him. Landing on his side hard against the gated walkway, he was lucky that he didn't fall as far as he could have if the bullets hit the rope sooner. Rubbing his battered side, the sound of rotors heightened his senses to see the chopper staring at him. Widow was chuckling at his predicament.

Guards were standing at the other end of the walkway, ready for him. Black Widow was floating at his side waiting for his move. She probably thought that he was trapped. But he had a plan. Taking out a stun grenade, he dashed forward. Widow started firing at his feet as the guards fired at his body. Dodging the bullets swiftly and not missing the beat of his rhythm, he picked the pin off the stun grenade. As he reached the right amount of distance, he threw it down under the guards' feet. Covering his own eyes, he slid in between the guards, who tried to wipe the white light that blinded their vision. Widow still fired at him mercilessly, accidently killing off the guards in the process.

"SNAAAAAKE!"

He heard the Widow scream in defeat as he safely entered the second Communication Towers.

* * *

**That was a nice move on Snake's part. So much risk in that move. He must love the adrenline rush.**


End file.
